Leadership
Books for ordained and lay leaders to encourage professional development and reflective ministerial practice, providing practical resources to grow and develop local church ministry.
{"id":7487704203455,"title":"Starting Your Messy Church","handle":"starting-your-messy-church","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAn all-in-one introduction to Messy Church. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhen you need to introduce your children's workers, family coordinators and church leaders to the concept of all-involving, activity-based, new-to-church worship, this is the quick-to-read resource that explains it all. Starting Your Messy Church is structured into bite-sized sections which take you through the essentials of how to construct a strategy and put your plans to start your own Messy Church ministry into action. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe book includes (among many other things) checklists, milestones and questions to ask of a Messy Church that you might visit, together with an honest and down-to-earth look at the 'Things we wish we'd known' from experienced Messy Church practitioners.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAuthor\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLucy Moore \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLucy Moore is the founder of Messy Church and is now head of the Church of England's Growing Faith Foundation.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\" data-mce-style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\" data-mce-style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0148\/6107\/4532\/files\/LucyMooreRGB72dpi_480x480.jpg?v=1683646009\" width=\"139\" height=\"139\" data-mce-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0148\/6107\/4532\/files\/LucyMooreRGB72dpi_480x480.jpg?v=1683646009\"\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\" data-mce-style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\" data-mce-style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eAike Kennet-Brown \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAike Kennett-Brown is BRF's Messy Church Ministry Lead.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\" data-mce-style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg height=\"152\" width=\"152\" style=\"margin-right: 20px; float: left;\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0148\/6107\/4532\/files\/Aike_Kennett-Brown_480x480.jpg?v=1677509845\" data-mce-style=\"margin-right: 20px; float: left;\" data-mce-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0148\/6107\/4532\/files\/Aike_Kennett-Brown_480x480.jpg?v=1677509845\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJane Leadbetter\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMost recently part of the BRF Messy Church team, Jane Leadbetter has worked as a primary school teacher and was Childrenʼs Work Adviser in the Diocese of Liverpool for twelve years. She runs L19: Messy Church once a month.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\" data-mce-style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg height=\"158\" width=\"158\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0148\/6107\/4532\/files\/JaneLeadbetterRGB72dpi_480x480.jpg?v=1683646209\" alt=\"\" data-mce-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0148\/6107\/4532\/files\/JaneLeadbetterRGB72dpi_480x480.jpg?v=1683646209\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\" data-mce-style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\" data-mce-style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eMedia reviews\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom Country Way - June to September 2013\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe were having problems with the format of our all-age worship in a small rural church - we weren't reaching young families so we thought we would try something different.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis book is just what it says in its introduction: 'short, punchy ....it gets the basics across quickly.' It's not a book about setting up yet another children's programme. God is at the heart of it, with a passion shining through for all generations to meet Jesus in a fun and accessible way.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a useful resource with some practical checklists and lots of encouragement. It sets out the principles and values of Messy Church, and is full of practical tips - about praying, funding, venue, child protection etc.. It shares some useful experiences of those already involved with established Messy Churches. It doesn't pull its punches about the difficulties and challenges likely to be faced but it does stress the encouragements and excitement the team will experience as they too grow as disciples as they get involved in the vision.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOnce you have decided to give it a go, you are not on your own. The book lists lots of other resources - more books, the Messy Church website, training and regional networks - you never need to be short of ideas and inspiration.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe have been running Messy Church now for six months. It's hard work but it's fun. It's encouraging our regular church families and it's involving people who, a year ago, 'wouldn't darken the doors of a church'. It's an opportunity to share the Gospel with them and to build relationships. Above all - it's messy!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReviewed by Gillian Roberts\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom Country Way Issue 60 - May 2012 -\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca title=\"www.countryway.org.uk\" rel=\"external\" href=\"http:\/\/www.countryway.org.uk\" data-mce-href=\"http:\/\/www.countryway.org.uk\"\u003ewww.countryway.org.uk\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe introduction to this book says it is 'short, punchy and easily passed round a team... It gets the basics across quickly...' That is exactly what it does. It gives a straightforward clear and concise overview of what Messy Church is and isn't. It tells you how to set up and maintain a Messy Church.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat is both its strength and the weakness. St Wilfrid's, Cowplain, (where it started) were innovative and thought creatively when they set up the first Messy Church. It is that innovation and the ability to think outside the box that other churches need to replicate. But just following a process that worked extremely well for St Wilfrid's may not work for other churches. Parts of the book recognise this: 'there are plenty of equally valid different ways of doing Messy Church and God is there in all of them.' Other parts of the book don't: 'stick with the Messy Church 'brand'. It is tried and tested; don't fall into the trap of ...tinkering about with it.'\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI shall be passing the book around in the hope that it will encourage us to learn from the Messy Church experience. I hope we will take the good ideas in it, think about what will work here, and no doubt will tinker about with it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReviewed by Robert Barlow\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom The Good Bookstall - 30 April 2012\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a slim volume of 55 pages (sales help fund the Messy Church ministry) introducing this popular Fresh Expression of church to those considering starting a Messy Church in their community. It sets out to be 'short, punchy and easily passed round a team' and it fulfils this aim well. Providing help to think through whether or not this is for your church, it counsels not rushing into starting a Messy Church. 'What matters is that your want to help families meet Jesus' this is not just for children, but a form of church for children and adults that involves creativity, celebration and hospitality. The big picture to hold in mind is that it is all about making disciples.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSupport from the whole church is needed, along with commitment from the leadership and prayer, and there is also good advice in seeking out the 'unlikely' people to be involved. It stresses that this is a team ministry and all will need to be prepared for hard work. Messy Church once a month is the normal pattern giving time for preparation and reflection between the sessions. The availability of help, encouragement and resources from the wider Messy Church network through people, books and online support is also covered.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview by Margaret Brasier, Beeston, Nottingham\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom The Church Times - 17 February 2012\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMESSY CHURCH, say Lucy Moore and Jane Leadbetter, is not a children's church, nor a way of attracting more people to a church's existing services. It is, they explain in\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eStarting Your Messy Church: A beginner's guide for churches\u003c\/em\u003e, a form of church for children and adults which involves creativity, celebration, and hospitality. It meets at a time and sometimes in a place that suit people who don't belong to a church.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e'The way you go about making disciples may involve horrifying amounts of icing sugar and glitter glue,' they say - but making disciples is what it's all about. The aim is 'to introduce Jesus through hospitality, friendship, stories, and worship'.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLucy Moore is the Bible Reading Fellowship's Messy Church Team Leader, and her co-author is a member of the team. Their small book is jolly, encouraging, and full of good and detailed advice for those interested in this kind of worship.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","published_at":"2023-05-09T16:19:11+01:00","created_at":"2023-05-09T16:19:11+01:00","vendor":"Messy Church","type":"Paperback","tags":["Children and family ministry","Glassboxx","Leadership","Messy Church","Messy Church books","Messy Masterclass"],"price":499,"price_min":499,"price_max":499,"available":true,"price_varies":false,"compare_at_price":null,"compare_at_price_min":0,"compare_at_price_max":0,"compare_at_price_varies":false,"variants":[{"id":42450822824127,"title":"Paperback","option1":"Paperback","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"9781800392243","requires_shipping":true,"taxable":false,"featured_image":{"id":34422898294975,"product_id":7487704203455,"position":1,"created_at":"2023-05-09T16:19:11+01:00","updated_at":"2023-05-09T16:19:12+01:00","alt":null,"width":1535,"height":2339,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/files\/StartingYourMessyChurch2023.jpg?v=1683645552","variant_ids":[42450822824127]},"available":true,"name":"Starting Your Messy Church - Paperback","public_title":"Paperback","options":["Paperback"],"price":499,"weight":84,"compare_at_price":null,"inventory_management":"shopify","barcode":"9781800392243","featured_media":{"alt":null,"id":27039501910207,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":0.656,"height":2339,"width":1535,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/files\/StartingYourMessyChurch2023.jpg?v=1683645552"}},"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_allocations":[]}],"images":["\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/files\/StartingYourMessyChurch2023.jpg?v=1683645552"],"featured_image":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/files\/StartingYourMessyChurch2023.jpg?v=1683645552","options":["Format"],"media":[{"alt":null,"id":27039501910207,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":0.656,"height":2339,"width":1535,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/files\/StartingYourMessyChurch2023.jpg?v=1683645552"},"aspect_ratio":0.656,"height":2339,"media_type":"image","src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/files\/StartingYourMessyChurch2023.jpg?v=1683645552","width":1535}],"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_groups":[],"content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAn all-in-one introduction to Messy Church. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhen you need to introduce your children's workers, family coordinators and church leaders to the concept of all-involving, activity-based, new-to-church worship, this is the quick-to-read resource that explains it all. Starting Your Messy Church is structured into bite-sized sections which take you through the essentials of how to construct a strategy and put your plans to start your own Messy Church ministry into action. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe book includes (among many other things) checklists, milestones and questions to ask of a Messy Church that you might visit, together with an honest and down-to-earth look at the 'Things we wish we'd known' from experienced Messy Church practitioners.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAuthor\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLucy Moore \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLucy Moore is the founder of Messy Church and is now head of the Church of England's Growing Faith Foundation.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\" data-mce-style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\" data-mce-style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0148\/6107\/4532\/files\/LucyMooreRGB72dpi_480x480.jpg?v=1683646009\" width=\"139\" height=\"139\" data-mce-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0148\/6107\/4532\/files\/LucyMooreRGB72dpi_480x480.jpg?v=1683646009\"\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\" data-mce-style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\" data-mce-style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eAike Kennet-Brown \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAike Kennett-Brown is BRF's Messy Church Ministry Lead.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\" data-mce-style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg height=\"152\" width=\"152\" style=\"margin-right: 20px; float: left;\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0148\/6107\/4532\/files\/Aike_Kennett-Brown_480x480.jpg?v=1677509845\" data-mce-style=\"margin-right: 20px; float: left;\" data-mce-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0148\/6107\/4532\/files\/Aike_Kennett-Brown_480x480.jpg?v=1677509845\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJane Leadbetter\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMost recently part of the BRF Messy Church team, Jane Leadbetter has worked as a primary school teacher and was Childrenʼs Work Adviser in the Diocese of Liverpool for twelve years. She runs L19: Messy Church once a month.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\" data-mce-style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg height=\"158\" width=\"158\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0148\/6107\/4532\/files\/JaneLeadbetterRGB72dpi_480x480.jpg?v=1683646209\" alt=\"\" data-mce-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0148\/6107\/4532\/files\/JaneLeadbetterRGB72dpi_480x480.jpg?v=1683646209\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\" data-mce-style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\" data-mce-style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eMedia reviews\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom Country Way - June to September 2013\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe were having problems with the format of our all-age worship in a small rural church - we weren't reaching young families so we thought we would try something different.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis book is just what it says in its introduction: 'short, punchy ....it gets the basics across quickly.' It's not a book about setting up yet another children's programme. God is at the heart of it, with a passion shining through for all generations to meet Jesus in a fun and accessible way.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a useful resource with some practical checklists and lots of encouragement. It sets out the principles and values of Messy Church, and is full of practical tips - about praying, funding, venue, child protection etc.. It shares some useful experiences of those already involved with established Messy Churches. It doesn't pull its punches about the difficulties and challenges likely to be faced but it does stress the encouragements and excitement the team will experience as they too grow as disciples as they get involved in the vision.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOnce you have decided to give it a go, you are not on your own. The book lists lots of other resources - more books, the Messy Church website, training and regional networks - you never need to be short of ideas and inspiration.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe have been running Messy Church now for six months. It's hard work but it's fun. It's encouraging our regular church families and it's involving people who, a year ago, 'wouldn't darken the doors of a church'. It's an opportunity to share the Gospel with them and to build relationships. Above all - it's messy!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReviewed by Gillian Roberts\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom Country Way Issue 60 - May 2012 -\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca title=\"www.countryway.org.uk\" rel=\"external\" href=\"http:\/\/www.countryway.org.uk\" data-mce-href=\"http:\/\/www.countryway.org.uk\"\u003ewww.countryway.org.uk\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe introduction to this book says it is 'short, punchy and easily passed round a team... It gets the basics across quickly...' That is exactly what it does. It gives a straightforward clear and concise overview of what Messy Church is and isn't. It tells you how to set up and maintain a Messy Church.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat is both its strength and the weakness. St Wilfrid's, Cowplain, (where it started) were innovative and thought creatively when they set up the first Messy Church. It is that innovation and the ability to think outside the box that other churches need to replicate. But just following a process that worked extremely well for St Wilfrid's may not work for other churches. Parts of the book recognise this: 'there are plenty of equally valid different ways of doing Messy Church and God is there in all of them.' Other parts of the book don't: 'stick with the Messy Church 'brand'. It is tried and tested; don't fall into the trap of ...tinkering about with it.'\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI shall be passing the book around in the hope that it will encourage us to learn from the Messy Church experience. I hope we will take the good ideas in it, think about what will work here, and no doubt will tinker about with it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReviewed by Robert Barlow\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom The Good Bookstall - 30 April 2012\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a slim volume of 55 pages (sales help fund the Messy Church ministry) introducing this popular Fresh Expression of church to those considering starting a Messy Church in their community. It sets out to be 'short, punchy and easily passed round a team' and it fulfils this aim well. Providing help to think through whether or not this is for your church, it counsels not rushing into starting a Messy Church. 'What matters is that your want to help families meet Jesus' this is not just for children, but a form of church for children and adults that involves creativity, celebration and hospitality. The big picture to hold in mind is that it is all about making disciples.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSupport from the whole church is needed, along with commitment from the leadership and prayer, and there is also good advice in seeking out the 'unlikely' people to be involved. It stresses that this is a team ministry and all will need to be prepared for hard work. Messy Church once a month is the normal pattern giving time for preparation and reflection between the sessions. The availability of help, encouragement and resources from the wider Messy Church network through people, books and online support is also covered.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview by Margaret Brasier, Beeston, Nottingham\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom The Church Times - 17 February 2012\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMESSY CHURCH, say Lucy Moore and Jane Leadbetter, is not a children's church, nor a way of attracting more people to a church's existing services. It is, they explain in\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eStarting Your Messy Church: A beginner's guide for churches\u003c\/em\u003e, a form of church for children and adults which involves creativity, celebration, and hospitality. It meets at a time and sometimes in a place that suit people who don't belong to a church.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e'The way you go about making disciples may involve horrifying amounts of icing sugar and glitter glue,' they say - but making disciples is what it's all about. The aim is 'to introduce Jesus through hospitality, friendship, stories, and worship'.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLucy Moore is the Bible Reading Fellowship's Messy Church Team Leader, and her co-author is a member of the team. Their small book is jolly, encouraging, and full of good and detailed advice for those interested in this kind of worship.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e"}
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Starting Your Messy Church
£4.99
An all-in-one introduction to Messy Church. When you need to introduce your children's workers, family coordinators and church leaders to...
{"id":7481159221439,"title":"Working from a Place of Rest: Jesus and the key to sustaining ministry","handle":"working-from-a-place-of-rest","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eExhaustion, burnout, tiredness, even breakdown... sadly, such conditions are all too common these days, not least among those involved in some kind of Christian ministry, whether full-time, part-time or voluntary. In striving to do our utmost for God, we can easily forget that there were many times when Jesus himself was willing to rest, to do nothing except wait for the Spirit's prompting, so that he demonstrated the vital principle of 'working from a place of rest'. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDrawing on extensive experience of training and mentoring across the world, Tony Horsfall reflects on the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman to draw out practical guidance for sustainable Christian life and work. As he writes: 'Come and sit by the well for a while. Take some time out to reflect on how you are living and working. Watch Jesus and see how he does it. Listen to what the Spirit may be saying to you deep within, at the centre of your being; and maybe, just maybe, God will give you some insights that will change your life and sustain your ministry over the long haul.'\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAuthor\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg height=\"272\" width=\"181\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0148\/6107\/4532\/files\/TonyHorsfall_2014_480x480.png?v=1676494125\" alt=\"\" style=\"margin-right: 20px; float: left;\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePeople around the world have been inspired and refreshed by Tony Horsfall’s teaching and mentoring. As well as working as an international freelance trainer and retreat leader, he has written a number of other books for BRF, including Deep Calls to Deep, Rhythms of Grace and Mentoring for Spiritual Growth. He also contributes to BRF’s New Daylight Bible reading notes.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEndorsements\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTony Horsfall’s Working from a Place of Rest is probably the book I have recommended more than any other to Christian friends and students, so I am delighted that this updated version is now available. Too many Christians involved in ministry and leadership, perhaps especially since the Covid pandemic, are overworked, stressed, and frankly exhausted. This book, based around Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman in John 4, invites us to stop and sit by the well with Jesus for a while, and to learn to incorporate into our lives a habit, even a discipline, of rest. Drawing on the living water we can then fulfil our callings through relying on God’s strength and resources, not our own. This book is a timely gift to Christian workers everywhere.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRosie Button, lecturer in Staff care and Wellbeing and New Testament at All Nations Christian College.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis book can help us discern what God wants us to say 'yes' to, and when to say 'no'; it can help us learn to build margin into our lives so that we work from a place of rest. How are you? Busy? If so, and especially if you do not have time to read books, then this is the book for you. \u003cstrong\u003eDr Debbie Hawker, InterHealth\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI am very happy to endorse the book. It came at a very timely moment for me as I was thinking about what it looks like to have a balanced life, and how we support others to avoid burnout. The new angle on the story of the Samaritan woman was of great encouragement and challenged me personally. It was good to be reminded about rhythms of life and it has provoked me to look again at how we create margin. \u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBecky Hembery, \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHead of Mission Personnel Operations, BMS World Mission\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003e\u003cspan\u003eReviews\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePreach online August 2023. Review by Ali Hull\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\"\u003eTony Horsfall has been writing books to encourage Christians, particularly leaders, for many years, and this one is a revised and reissued version of a previous book. It is definitely worth a read.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\"\u003eHis main thesis is that Jesus models a different way of working, that is not only counter-cultural in the sense that it goes against the way the western world works, but it also goes against the way the church tends to act in the Western world as well. Because as far as idolising hard work and over-commitment is concerned, the church and the Western world tend to be in lockstep.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\"\u003eIt doesn’t have to be like this.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\"\u003eTaking the John 4 story of Jesus meeting the woman at the well as his foundation, Horsfall explores what made Jesus different, his security in his identity and his ability to say ‘No’ – there is even a list in the back of occasions when he did so! He points out that we tend to believe the Protestant work ethic is God-ordained, piling pressure upon pressure, either upon ourselves or each other. Our measure of success is ‘numerical growth’ which leads, he believes, to greater pressure on those who work for the big successful churches – both to ‘keep producing results’ and through an ‘unacknowledged perfectionism’.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\"\u003eBut at the well, Jesus stopped. He rested.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\"\u003eHe was tired and stopping was okay. Not only was it okay, it turned out to be fruitful. Stopping, says Horsfall, is a discipline – whether we want to do it or not, we need to intentionally build it into our lives, in order for our ministry to be sustainable. ‘As Christians,’ he writes, ‘we have a strong theology of work but virtually no theology of leisure’, and he sets out to reset the balance a little here, exploring what leisure does, the different types of leisure, and why it matters. But he goes beyond that, to point to a new way of working – allowing God to work in and through us, finding our security in him, leaving the results to him, and developing the spiritual disciplines necessary to integrate resting and working.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eReviewed by Ali Hull, book editor for Preach magazine.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview by Richard Frost, September 2023\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTony Horsfall is one of BRF’s most prolific writers and this book does not disappoint. First published in 2010, this revised version provides a thought-provoking exploration of one of the great encounters recorded in the Bible: Jesus’ meeting with the woman from Samaria.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTaking as its starting point, Jesus’ need to have a rest after tiring walk, Tony Horsfall encourages all of us to ‘sit by the well’ for a while. He argues that Jesus used this rest not only for refreshment but to be the place from which his work would continue: on this occasion in the conversation he would have with the woman who came to collect water.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt a time when burn out, exhaustion and other forms of physical and mental ill health are being experienced by many in church ministry and secular work environments, Horsfall warns against the ‘driven’ nature of many occupations and the often misjudged approaches by those who undertake them. ‘We are not machines; we are human beings,’ he writes. ‘We cannot keep producing the goods without respite. We need a break. We need to sit by the well.’\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a book for its time. It is easy to read, and Horsfall’s writing draws out numerous points for us to reflect upon. Like threads in a tapestry, they serve to support the key theme of the book: working from a place of rest.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReviewed by Richard Frost. A former mental health and employment specialist, Richard is the author of \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/products\/life-with-st-benedict-the-rule-re-imagined-for-everyday-living\"\u003eLife with St Benedict\u003c\/a\u003e and writes a blog at \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/workrestpray.com\/\"\u003eworkrestpray.com\u003c\/a\u003e. He is also the author of \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/richardfrostauthor.com\/\"\u003ethree other books\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMedia\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA letter from a reader:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDear Tony\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI'm sure you get plenty of thank you emails. I simply wanted to add to them. Your books: Rhythms of Grace, Working from a Place of Rest, and Mentoring for Spiritual Growth are being used to redirect our ministry.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn August last year, after six years of running our smallholding in Cornwall as a place of prayer and recovery from addiction, mental illness... we came very close to burnout. God stepped in, through a number of friends and supporting churches, and put us on a sabbatical break. Friends in Birmingham, who had been to one of your seminars, suggested we read your books. It's now my second time reading through them and my wife and I can feel God calling us back to his vision for this place.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThank you for helping us get back on track.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Good Bookstall\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e- May 2010\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis slim book is a precious antidote to the overload excesses that corrode the heart and soul of all who serve Jesus. Tony Horsfall writes with great wisdom and warmth navigating core truths with great faithfulness and fresh insight!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe narrative of Jesus and the Samaritan woman are central to explorations offered.... I particularly treasured the clarity the author paints of how Jesus said, 'No' to people! Additionally the journey surrounding the cycle of grace offers real help. I would have loved more application, especially surrounding margins and boundaries.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGreat book offered up by a wise guide!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReviewed by Johnny Douglas\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2023-04-21T20:37:51+01:00","created_at":"2023-04-21T20:37:51+01:00","vendor":"Tony Horsfall","type":"Paperback","tags":["Discipleship","Glassboxx","Leadership","Pastoral care","Spiritual care","Tony Horsfall"],"price":999,"price_min":999,"price_max":999,"available":true,"price_varies":false,"compare_at_price":null,"compare_at_price_min":0,"compare_at_price_max":0,"compare_at_price_varies":false,"variants":[{"id":43664183722175,"title":"Paperback","option1":"Paperback","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"9781800392205","requires_shipping":true,"taxable":false,"featured_image":{"id":34356763361471,"product_id":7481159221439,"position":1,"created_at":"2023-04-21T20:37:51+01:00","updated_at":"2023-04-21T20:37:52+01:00","alt":null,"width":426,"height":650,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/WorkingfromaPlaceofRest.jpg?v=1682105872","variant_ids":[43664183722175]},"available":true,"name":"Working from a Place of Rest: Jesus and the key to sustaining ministry - Paperback","public_title":"Paperback","options":["Paperback"],"price":999,"weight":165,"compare_at_price":null,"inventory_management":"shopify","barcode":"9781800392205","featured_media":{"alt":null,"id":26972322201791,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":0.655,"height":650,"width":426,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/WorkingfromaPlaceofRest.jpg?v=1682105872"}},"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_allocations":[]}],"images":["\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/WorkingfromaPlaceofRest.jpg?v=1682105872"],"featured_image":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/WorkingfromaPlaceofRest.jpg?v=1682105872","options":["Format"],"media":[{"alt":null,"id":26972322201791,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":0.655,"height":650,"width":426,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/WorkingfromaPlaceofRest.jpg?v=1682105872"},"aspect_ratio":0.655,"height":650,"media_type":"image","src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/WorkingfromaPlaceofRest.jpg?v=1682105872","width":426}],"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_groups":[],"content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eExhaustion, burnout, tiredness, even breakdown... sadly, such conditions are all too common these days, not least among those involved in some kind of Christian ministry, whether full-time, part-time or voluntary. In striving to do our utmost for God, we can easily forget that there were many times when Jesus himself was willing to rest, to do nothing except wait for the Spirit's prompting, so that he demonstrated the vital principle of 'working from a place of rest'. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDrawing on extensive experience of training and mentoring across the world, Tony Horsfall reflects on the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman to draw out practical guidance for sustainable Christian life and work. As he writes: 'Come and sit by the well for a while. Take some time out to reflect on how you are living and working. Watch Jesus and see how he does it. Listen to what the Spirit may be saying to you deep within, at the centre of your being; and maybe, just maybe, God will give you some insights that will change your life and sustain your ministry over the long haul.'\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAuthor\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg height=\"272\" width=\"181\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0148\/6107\/4532\/files\/TonyHorsfall_2014_480x480.png?v=1676494125\" alt=\"\" style=\"margin-right: 20px; float: left;\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePeople around the world have been inspired and refreshed by Tony Horsfall’s teaching and mentoring. As well as working as an international freelance trainer and retreat leader, he has written a number of other books for BRF, including Deep Calls to Deep, Rhythms of Grace and Mentoring for Spiritual Growth. He also contributes to BRF’s New Daylight Bible reading notes.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEndorsements\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTony Horsfall’s Working from a Place of Rest is probably the book I have recommended more than any other to Christian friends and students, so I am delighted that this updated version is now available. Too many Christians involved in ministry and leadership, perhaps especially since the Covid pandemic, are overworked, stressed, and frankly exhausted. This book, based around Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman in John 4, invites us to stop and sit by the well with Jesus for a while, and to learn to incorporate into our lives a habit, even a discipline, of rest. Drawing on the living water we can then fulfil our callings through relying on God’s strength and resources, not our own. This book is a timely gift to Christian workers everywhere.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRosie Button, lecturer in Staff care and Wellbeing and New Testament at All Nations Christian College.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis book can help us discern what God wants us to say 'yes' to, and when to say 'no'; it can help us learn to build margin into our lives so that we work from a place of rest. How are you? Busy? If so, and especially if you do not have time to read books, then this is the book for you. \u003cstrong\u003eDr Debbie Hawker, InterHealth\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI am very happy to endorse the book. It came at a very timely moment for me as I was thinking about what it looks like to have a balanced life, and how we support others to avoid burnout. The new angle on the story of the Samaritan woman was of great encouragement and challenged me personally. It was good to be reminded about rhythms of life and it has provoked me to look again at how we create margin. \u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBecky Hembery, \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHead of Mission Personnel Operations, BMS World Mission\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003e\u003cspan\u003eReviews\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePreach online August 2023. Review by Ali Hull\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\"\u003eTony Horsfall has been writing books to encourage Christians, particularly leaders, for many years, and this one is a revised and reissued version of a previous book. It is definitely worth a read.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\"\u003eHis main thesis is that Jesus models a different way of working, that is not only counter-cultural in the sense that it goes against the way the western world works, but it also goes against the way the church tends to act in the Western world as well. Because as far as idolising hard work and over-commitment is concerned, the church and the Western world tend to be in lockstep.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\"\u003eIt doesn’t have to be like this.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\"\u003eTaking the John 4 story of Jesus meeting the woman at the well as his foundation, Horsfall explores what made Jesus different, his security in his identity and his ability to say ‘No’ – there is even a list in the back of occasions when he did so! He points out that we tend to believe the Protestant work ethic is God-ordained, piling pressure upon pressure, either upon ourselves or each other. Our measure of success is ‘numerical growth’ which leads, he believes, to greater pressure on those who work for the big successful churches – both to ‘keep producing results’ and through an ‘unacknowledged perfectionism’.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\"\u003eBut at the well, Jesus stopped. He rested.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\"\u003eHe was tired and stopping was okay. Not only was it okay, it turned out to be fruitful. Stopping, says Horsfall, is a discipline – whether we want to do it or not, we need to intentionally build it into our lives, in order for our ministry to be sustainable. ‘As Christians,’ he writes, ‘we have a strong theology of work but virtually no theology of leisure’, and he sets out to reset the balance a little here, exploring what leisure does, the different types of leisure, and why it matters. But he goes beyond that, to point to a new way of working – allowing God to work in and through us, finding our security in him, leaving the results to him, and developing the spiritual disciplines necessary to integrate resting and working.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eReviewed by Ali Hull, book editor for Preach magazine.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview by Richard Frost, September 2023\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTony Horsfall is one of BRF’s most prolific writers and this book does not disappoint. First published in 2010, this revised version provides a thought-provoking exploration of one of the great encounters recorded in the Bible: Jesus’ meeting with the woman from Samaria.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTaking as its starting point, Jesus’ need to have a rest after tiring walk, Tony Horsfall encourages all of us to ‘sit by the well’ for a while. He argues that Jesus used this rest not only for refreshment but to be the place from which his work would continue: on this occasion in the conversation he would have with the woman who came to collect water.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt a time when burn out, exhaustion and other forms of physical and mental ill health are being experienced by many in church ministry and secular work environments, Horsfall warns against the ‘driven’ nature of many occupations and the often misjudged approaches by those who undertake them. ‘We are not machines; we are human beings,’ he writes. ‘We cannot keep producing the goods without respite. We need a break. We need to sit by the well.’\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a book for its time. It is easy to read, and Horsfall’s writing draws out numerous points for us to reflect upon. Like threads in a tapestry, they serve to support the key theme of the book: working from a place of rest.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReviewed by Richard Frost. A former mental health and employment specialist, Richard is the author of \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/products\/life-with-st-benedict-the-rule-re-imagined-for-everyday-living\"\u003eLife with St Benedict\u003c\/a\u003e and writes a blog at \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/workrestpray.com\/\"\u003eworkrestpray.com\u003c\/a\u003e. He is also the author of \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/richardfrostauthor.com\/\"\u003ethree other books\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMedia\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA letter from a reader:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDear Tony\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI'm sure you get plenty of thank you emails. I simply wanted to add to them. Your books: Rhythms of Grace, Working from a Place of Rest, and Mentoring for Spiritual Growth are being used to redirect our ministry.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn August last year, after six years of running our smallholding in Cornwall as a place of prayer and recovery from addiction, mental illness... we came very close to burnout. God stepped in, through a number of friends and supporting churches, and put us on a sabbatical break. Friends in Birmingham, who had been to one of your seminars, suggested we read your books. It's now my second time reading through them and my wife and I can feel God calling us back to his vision for this place.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThank you for helping us get back on track.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Good Bookstall\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e- May 2010\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis slim book is a precious antidote to the overload excesses that corrode the heart and soul of all who serve Jesus. Tony Horsfall writes with great wisdom and warmth navigating core truths with great faithfulness and fresh insight!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe narrative of Jesus and the Samaritan woman are central to explorations offered.... I particularly treasured the clarity the author paints of how Jesus said, 'No' to people! Additionally the journey surrounding the cycle of grace offers real help. I would have loved more application, especially surrounding margins and boundaries.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGreat book offered up by a wise guide!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReviewed by Johnny Douglas\u003c\/p\u003e"}
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Working from a Place of Rest: Jesus and the key to sustaining ministry
£9.99
Exhaustion, burnout, tiredness, even breakdown... sadly, such conditions are all too common these days, not least among those involved in...
{"id":7481158533311,"title":"Refresh: Introducing adults to faith through toddler groups","handle":"refresh","description":"\u003cp\u003eRefresh Café is a fun and effective way to build fruitful relationships with parents and carers in your community. It’s stay and play turned on its head: the children have fun, but we focus on refreshing the adults with time to talk, fresh coffee, pastries and most importantly our key ingredient: a five-minute ‘thought for the day’ where we share something of God in a gentle, relevant and accessible way. All this in a welcoming play space for the children. This book shows you how to run Refresh, and includes 33 ‘thoughts for the day’ to use in your setting.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003ciframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/TrfXxTTYsow\" height=\"315\" width=\"560\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" frameborder=\"0\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAuthor \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCaroline Montgomery is the pioneer of Refresh. Formerly Families Pastor at St Stephen’s Church, Twickenham, she has been married to Richard for 35 years and they have three grown-up sons. She enjoys walking, going to the gym, knitting and having coffee with friends.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEndorsements \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h5\u003e","published_at":"2023-04-21T20:30:01+01:00","created_at":"2023-04-21T20:30:01+01:00","vendor":"Caroline Montgomery","type":"Paperback","tags":["Children and family ministry","Discipleship","For churches","For individuals","Glassboxx","Leadership"],"price":799,"price_min":799,"price_max":799,"available":true,"price_varies":false,"compare_at_price":null,"compare_at_price_min":0,"compare_at_price_max":0,"compare_at_price_varies":false,"variants":[{"id":42422720823487,"title":"Paperback","option1":"Paperback","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"9781800392168","requires_shipping":true,"taxable":false,"featured_image":{"id":34356753072319,"product_id":7481158533311,"position":1,"created_at":"2023-04-21T20:31:39+01:00","updated_at":"2023-04-21T20:31:40+01:00","alt":null,"width":1748,"height":2480,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/Refresh.jpg?v=1682105500","variant_ids":[42422720823487]},"available":true,"name":"Refresh: Introducing adults to faith through toddler groups - Paperback","public_title":"Paperback","options":["Paperback"],"price":799,"weight":165,"compare_at_price":null,"inventory_management":"shopify","barcode":"9781800392168","featured_media":{"alt":null,"id":26972311814335,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":0.705,"height":2480,"width":1748,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/Refresh.jpg?v=1682105500"}},"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_allocations":[]}],"images":["\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/Refresh.jpg?v=1682105500"],"featured_image":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/Refresh.jpg?v=1682105500","options":["Format"],"media":[{"alt":null,"id":26972311814335,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":0.705,"height":2480,"width":1748,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/Refresh.jpg?v=1682105500"},"aspect_ratio":0.705,"height":2480,"media_type":"image","src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/Refresh.jpg?v=1682105500","width":1748}],"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_groups":[],"content":"\u003cp\u003eRefresh Café is a fun and effective way to build fruitful relationships with parents and carers in your community. It’s stay and play turned on its head: the children have fun, but we focus on refreshing the adults with time to talk, fresh coffee, pastries and most importantly our key ingredient: a five-minute ‘thought for the day’ where we share something of God in a gentle, relevant and accessible way. All this in a welcoming play space for the children. This book shows you how to run Refresh, and includes 33 ‘thoughts for the day’ to use in your setting.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003ciframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/TrfXxTTYsow\" height=\"315\" width=\"560\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" frameborder=\"0\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAuthor \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCaroline Montgomery is the pioneer of Refresh. Formerly Families Pastor at St Stephen’s Church, Twickenham, she has been married to Richard for 35 years and they have three grown-up sons. She enjoys walking, going to the gym, knitting and having coffee with friends.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEndorsements \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h5\u003e"}
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Refresh: Introducing adults to faith through toddler groups
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Refresh Café is a fun and effective way to build fruitful relationships with parents and carers in your community. It’s...
{"id":7481157288127,"title":"Good Call: Learning to make decisions with God","handle":"good-call","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHave you ever experienced conflict between what your head and your heart were telling you to do? Have you struggled to reach agreement with others when making a group decision, or regretted a major decision and had to live with the consequences? Have you ever found it difficult to be sure of God’s will in a particular situation? If so, you’re in very good company. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEverybody makes decisions – all the time. Are there ‘5 simple steps’ to the right decision? No, there aren’t. Should you stop thinking about it and ‘just do something’? No, you shouldn’t. But could you expect God to share with you his will and purpose, giving you clues and directions in a way you can understand? Yes, you could. Iain Dunbar and Peter Wilkinson share their own decision-making history (even the dodgy stuff) and encourage you to look honestly at yours. Borrowing from the world of coaching, they help you evaluate your decision-making to date and develop new and better habits and practices with God at the centre.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003ciframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/TTAJSirLtAo\" height=\"315\" width=\"560\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" frameborder=\"0\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ygPF7xNSdy8\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAuthor\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIain R. Dunbar\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIain Dunbar's background is in business development and operational management for UK, US and Australian companies. He has extensive experience of recruitment, career development, team building, coaching of individuals and leadership groups, and church leadership and teaching in Independent Evangelical, Baptist and Anglican contexts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePeter R. Wilkinson \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePeter Wilkinson is now retired after a professional life as a chartered engineer working for the largest defence company in the UK. He is actively involved in local Baptist churches in senior leadership roles including preaching, teaching and worship leading.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEndorsements\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e‘In a world where we are faced with daily, seemingly relentless, pressures\u003cbr\u003eto make potentially life-changing decisions, this timely volume places a\u003cbr\u003estrong emphasis on the importance of hearing from God and personal\u003cbr\u003eself-reflection – rather than offering a formulaic ‘system’ that can often lead\u003cbr\u003eto discouragement and feelings of failure through poor decision-making.\u003cbr\u003eI have been privileged to know Iain and Pete as friends, mentors and church\u003cbr\u003eco-leaders during the past 40-plus years and can testify to their authenticity,\u003cbr\u003eintegrity and godly wisdom that will be evident throughout this book.\u003cbr\u003eWhether you are facing important decisions now, or at any time in the future\u003cbr\u003e(which is a certainty!), I would strongly commend their work to you.’\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Marriott, executive director, Missionary Ventures [MotiVate] NZ\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘I have known Iain and Pete for the best part of 45 years. As I read this book,\u003cbr\u003eI hear their voices; the intonation, the stress on certain words, the pain and\u003cbr\u003ejoys of being who and what they are. We are all different people yet, beneath\u003cbr\u003ethe differences, our hearts find their resting place in God and one can sense\u003cbr\u003etheir earnest ‘desires of the heart’ as they engage with the professional and\u003cbr\u003epersonal frustrations they have encountered. Here are two blokes, wrestling\u003cbr\u003ewith the transcendent God of Jacob. Their scientific\/ engineering\/ managerial\u003cbr\u003enature comes through in recounted personal and corporate experiences.\u003cbr\u003eTheir stories are honest and illustrative and heart meets head as we are\u003cbr\u003etaken through the chapters. Iain’s use of scriptural narrative – the ‘story’\u003cbr\u003ewritten for a reason and with passion by a passionate, storytelling Jewish\u003cbr\u003epeople – is lively. His plain reading of this story, sitting on top of the exegesis,\u003cbr\u003e‘lives’ and he applies it brilliantly. Pete brings a different felt experience. His\u003cbr\u003emethodical, engineering approach is like a strong but gentle hand coming\u003cbr\u003ein, guiding the apprentice’s hand at the lathe – ‘Here, let me help you... Just\u003cbr\u003ea bit more pressure there… That’s right, see what you can do? Now, try it\u003cbr\u003eon your own.’ This book is pastoral in nature, aiming for practical, clear and\u003cbr\u003egodly outcomes at all levels of decision-making, accompanied by the peace\u003cbr\u003eof God to rule in our hearts and minds.’\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRevd J. Andrew Dodd, Baptist minister (retired) and president of Churches\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTogether in Cumbria\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eReviews\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTransforming Ministry January 2024. Review by Howard Rowe\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHaving worked in project management in industry, I’ve studied ‘decision-making’, and was unsure I wanted to read another book about it. But I was pleasantly surprised by this book, which is bright, interesting and full of great examples. Having made some good but many poor decisions in life, it was good to discover that the authors had too. They do not propose a canned methodology, but commend a process based on data, analytical skill, and discernment that comes from God. Chapters on developing our spiritual senses and discernment are particularly strong. The book considers decision-making in families and in church councils. Will I make only good decisions from here on? Sadly, no! But I will be more aware of the resources available to me as a person of faith! The book is written with imagination and should be read cover-to-cover, but you could dip into it and still benefit. I commend it to leaders, church members, parents, teachers and businesspeople.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eReviewed by Howard Rowe\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChurch Times 04.08.23. Review by Dr Eve Poole\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen wrestling with a knotty problem, many Christians have experienced trying God on the metaphorical white phone, only to find a rather puzzling buzz on the line. The businessmen Iain Dunbar and Peter Wilkinson share your frustration and have written a book to try to help.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eGood Call: Learning to make decisions with God\u003c\/em\u003e is deliberately accessible in style, as the two of them take it in turns to workshop you through a better process. They start by asking you to learn from your own history, by recalling your past decisions and charting them on a timeline, good and bad. Reflecting on them will teach you your own tendencies under pressure. The authors remind you that good decisions, even hard ones with difficult consequences, will always give you a sense of peace, while the less good ones will tend to prey on your mind and feel somehow unresolved.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUsing examples from the Bible and from their own careers, they set out a process for learning how to discern God’s voice in the noise. It requires patience to develop what they liken to ‘good taste’, and the hallmark of a bad decision will often be that it was rushed. But starting to make every decision with God, no matter how small, trains you in the way. This habit holds you in relationship and teaches you to listen. The accumulation of all your decisions hones in you the development of a settled conscience, which be- comes over time an ever more reliable guide as you learn to discern the path God wants you to take. And if you are ever really stuck? They remind you to cry to the Lord, and sleep on it. Joy will come in the morning, and you will always feel peaceful when you have got it right.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDr Eve Poole writes on theology, economics, and leadership.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2023-04-21T20:20:17+01:00","created_at":"2023-04-21T20:20:17+01:00","vendor":"Iain Dunbar \u0026 Peter Wilkinson","type":"Paperback","tags":["Discipleship","Glassboxx","Leadership"],"price":1299,"price_min":1299,"price_max":1299,"available":true,"price_varies":false,"compare_at_price":null,"compare_at_price_min":0,"compare_at_price_max":0,"compare_at_price_varies":false,"variants":[{"id":43664178479295,"title":"Paperback","option1":"Paperback","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"9781800392182","requires_shipping":true,"taxable":false,"featured_image":{"id":34356733313215,"product_id":7481157288127,"position":1,"created_at":"2023-04-21T20:20:17+01:00","updated_at":"2023-04-21T20:20:19+01:00","alt":null,"width":1535,"height":2339,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/GoodCall.jpg?v=1682104819","variant_ids":[43664178479295]},"available":true,"name":"Good Call: Learning to make decisions with God - Paperback","public_title":"Paperback","options":["Paperback"],"price":1299,"weight":268,"compare_at_price":null,"inventory_management":"shopify","barcode":"9781800392182","featured_media":{"alt":null,"id":26972291596479,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":0.656,"height":2339,"width":1535,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/GoodCall.jpg?v=1682104819"}},"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_allocations":[]}],"images":["\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/GoodCall.jpg?v=1682104819"],"featured_image":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/GoodCall.jpg?v=1682104819","options":["Format"],"media":[{"alt":null,"id":26972291596479,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":0.656,"height":2339,"width":1535,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/GoodCall.jpg?v=1682104819"},"aspect_ratio":0.656,"height":2339,"media_type":"image","src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/GoodCall.jpg?v=1682104819","width":1535}],"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_groups":[],"content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHave you ever experienced conflict between what your head and your heart were telling you to do? Have you struggled to reach agreement with others when making a group decision, or regretted a major decision and had to live with the consequences? Have you ever found it difficult to be sure of God’s will in a particular situation? If so, you’re in very good company. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEverybody makes decisions – all the time. Are there ‘5 simple steps’ to the right decision? No, there aren’t. Should you stop thinking about it and ‘just do something’? No, you shouldn’t. But could you expect God to share with you his will and purpose, giving you clues and directions in a way you can understand? Yes, you could. Iain Dunbar and Peter Wilkinson share their own decision-making history (even the dodgy stuff) and encourage you to look honestly at yours. Borrowing from the world of coaching, they help you evaluate your decision-making to date and develop new and better habits and practices with God at the centre.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003ciframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/TTAJSirLtAo\" height=\"315\" width=\"560\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" frameborder=\"0\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ygPF7xNSdy8\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAuthor\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIain R. Dunbar\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIain Dunbar's background is in business development and operational management for UK, US and Australian companies. He has extensive experience of recruitment, career development, team building, coaching of individuals and leadership groups, and church leadership and teaching in Independent Evangelical, Baptist and Anglican contexts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePeter R. Wilkinson \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePeter Wilkinson is now retired after a professional life as a chartered engineer working for the largest defence company in the UK. He is actively involved in local Baptist churches in senior leadership roles including preaching, teaching and worship leading.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEndorsements\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e‘In a world where we are faced with daily, seemingly relentless, pressures\u003cbr\u003eto make potentially life-changing decisions, this timely volume places a\u003cbr\u003estrong emphasis on the importance of hearing from God and personal\u003cbr\u003eself-reflection – rather than offering a formulaic ‘system’ that can often lead\u003cbr\u003eto discouragement and feelings of failure through poor decision-making.\u003cbr\u003eI have been privileged to know Iain and Pete as friends, mentors and church\u003cbr\u003eco-leaders during the past 40-plus years and can testify to their authenticity,\u003cbr\u003eintegrity and godly wisdom that will be evident throughout this book.\u003cbr\u003eWhether you are facing important decisions now, or at any time in the future\u003cbr\u003e(which is a certainty!), I would strongly commend their work to you.’\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Marriott, executive director, Missionary Ventures [MotiVate] NZ\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘I have known Iain and Pete for the best part of 45 years. As I read this book,\u003cbr\u003eI hear their voices; the intonation, the stress on certain words, the pain and\u003cbr\u003ejoys of being who and what they are. We are all different people yet, beneath\u003cbr\u003ethe differences, our hearts find their resting place in God and one can sense\u003cbr\u003etheir earnest ‘desires of the heart’ as they engage with the professional and\u003cbr\u003epersonal frustrations they have encountered. Here are two blokes, wrestling\u003cbr\u003ewith the transcendent God of Jacob. Their scientific\/ engineering\/ managerial\u003cbr\u003enature comes through in recounted personal and corporate experiences.\u003cbr\u003eTheir stories are honest and illustrative and heart meets head as we are\u003cbr\u003etaken through the chapters. Iain’s use of scriptural narrative – the ‘story’\u003cbr\u003ewritten for a reason and with passion by a passionate, storytelling Jewish\u003cbr\u003epeople – is lively. His plain reading of this story, sitting on top of the exegesis,\u003cbr\u003e‘lives’ and he applies it brilliantly. Pete brings a different felt experience. His\u003cbr\u003emethodical, engineering approach is like a strong but gentle hand coming\u003cbr\u003ein, guiding the apprentice’s hand at the lathe – ‘Here, let me help you... Just\u003cbr\u003ea bit more pressure there… That’s right, see what you can do? Now, try it\u003cbr\u003eon your own.’ This book is pastoral in nature, aiming for practical, clear and\u003cbr\u003egodly outcomes at all levels of decision-making, accompanied by the peace\u003cbr\u003eof God to rule in our hearts and minds.’\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRevd J. Andrew Dodd, Baptist minister (retired) and president of Churches\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTogether in Cumbria\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eReviews\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTransforming Ministry January 2024. Review by Howard Rowe\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHaving worked in project management in industry, I’ve studied ‘decision-making’, and was unsure I wanted to read another book about it. But I was pleasantly surprised by this book, which is bright, interesting and full of great examples. Having made some good but many poor decisions in life, it was good to discover that the authors had too. They do not propose a canned methodology, but commend a process based on data, analytical skill, and discernment that comes from God. Chapters on developing our spiritual senses and discernment are particularly strong. The book considers decision-making in families and in church councils. Will I make only good decisions from here on? Sadly, no! But I will be more aware of the resources available to me as a person of faith! The book is written with imagination and should be read cover-to-cover, but you could dip into it and still benefit. I commend it to leaders, church members, parents, teachers and businesspeople.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eReviewed by Howard Rowe\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChurch Times 04.08.23. Review by Dr Eve Poole\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen wrestling with a knotty problem, many Christians have experienced trying God on the metaphorical white phone, only to find a rather puzzling buzz on the line. The businessmen Iain Dunbar and Peter Wilkinson share your frustration and have written a book to try to help.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eGood Call: Learning to make decisions with God\u003c\/em\u003e is deliberately accessible in style, as the two of them take it in turns to workshop you through a better process. They start by asking you to learn from your own history, by recalling your past decisions and charting them on a timeline, good and bad. Reflecting on them will teach you your own tendencies under pressure. The authors remind you that good decisions, even hard ones with difficult consequences, will always give you a sense of peace, while the less good ones will tend to prey on your mind and feel somehow unresolved.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUsing examples from the Bible and from their own careers, they set out a process for learning how to discern God’s voice in the noise. It requires patience to develop what they liken to ‘good taste’, and the hallmark of a bad decision will often be that it was rushed. But starting to make every decision with God, no matter how small, trains you in the way. This habit holds you in relationship and teaches you to listen. The accumulation of all your decisions hones in you the development of a settled conscience, which be- comes over time an ever more reliable guide as you learn to discern the path God wants you to take. And if you are ever really stuck? They remind you to cry to the Lord, and sleep on it. Joy will come in the morning, and you will always feel peaceful when you have got it right.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDr Eve Poole writes on theology, economics, and leadership.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e"}
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Good Call: Learning to make decisions with God
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Have you ever experienced conflict between what your head and your heart were telling you to do? Have you struggled...
{"id":7052868124863,"title":"Growing Young Leaders: A practical guide to mentoring teens","handle":"growing-young-leaders-a-practical-guide-to-mentoring-teens","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis fully updated second edition of Growing Young Leaders offers practical guidance for all those mentoring 13- to 18-year-olds in a faith context, with a view to nurturing them towards leadership roles. Linked to CPAS Growing Leaders–Youth Edition course, it also works as a stand-alone resource. It defines mentoring, analyses the necessary skills and attributes of a mentor today, encourages good practice, considers safeguarding and, above all, considers how to help young people identify their gifts and grow as Christian disciples.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e'I hope and pray that this book will help release the potential of our young people so that they become even greater disciples of Jesus Christ.'\u003cbr\u003eJohn Sentamu, former Archbishop of York\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAuthor info\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRuth Hassall is a speaker, trainer, author and coach with over 20 years’ experience of working with individuals, churches, organisations and dioceses. As youth and children’s pastor (St Thomas’, Lancaster), national children’s work adviser (CMS), leadership development adviser (CPAS), pastor of training and discipleship (St John’s, Harborne), director of growing younger (Birmingham Diocese), director of discipleship (Blackburn Diocese)and now in a freelance capacity, she’s had the opportunity to experience the joys and challenges of ministry in a number of contexts. Throughout all these roles leadership development and discipleship have been running themes–collectively and individually. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eInterview with Ruth Hassall\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRuth was interviewed by Vicky Gibbens on UCB1, on Monday 24 January.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.ucb.co.uk\/vickygibbens%20\"\u003eTeenagers: Identifying gifts and leading confidently\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003e Endorsements\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘What a helpful book. Positive, poignant, and practical, Ruth acts as a wise guide helping us see the significant impact mentoring teenagers can have.’\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJames Lawrence, CPAS, Leadership Principal\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘I would highly recommend this book for all youth and children’s ministry. Rooted in the Bible, Ruth unpacks important aspects of working one-to-one with young people. It gives the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ of doing this and is an extremely practical book to help young people move forward in their spiritual journey. I really liked the fact that there is a section on the self-care of the mentor, which is essential.’\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSharon Prior, Director of the PACE Trust\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘The Highway Code for mentoring young leaders… essential reading for transformational relationships!’\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAlan Charter, Global Children’s Forum\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘Discipleship will always work best in the context of close, intentional relationships… \u003cem\u003eGrowing Young Leaders\u003c\/em\u003e is a fantastic tool to aid exactly this kind of life-changing discipleship work. The kind of mentoring that it advocates and resources isn’t easy or fast, but it can produce profound results in young lives that will echo into eternity.’\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMartin Saunders, Director, Youthscape’s Satellites Event\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘I find most adults aren’t interested in being a youth leader but are keen to purposefully invest in one young person… Ruth’s book is the best book that I know of which explains clearly the nuts and bolts of mentoring. She makes it easy to set up and start a mentoring programme and for you, as a mentor, to grow in the process. It is so good, it’s the one book that I put into the hands of all the new mentors that we have investing in our young people, and I am delighted that it has been reprinted. This is essential for youth ministry in the 21st century.’\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAndy Castle, CEO and founder, Thrive Youth Ministries\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘This is a perfect little handbook for anyone considering or already mentoring young people. Ruth gives us a perfect blend of the theoretical and biblical basis for mentoring, together with a very practical and insightful guide to all aspects of mentoring young people, all the while being utterly inspirational! Coming from an experienced and authentic thinker and practitioner such as Ruth, it’s a must-read for youth work proficionados and newbies alike.’\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHelena Kittle, YWAM, England\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘This is a brilliant book; Ruth’s lived experience of her writing gives her authenticity and authority. This is a must-read for all youth workers and anyone who wants to see the church grow.’\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRachel Retallick-Cheel, Youth and Support Worker for The Feast Birmingham\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘This isn’t so much a book to read and then move on, as it is a tool box to open and find on every page great advice, tips and suggestions… If you want to embark on the adventure of mentoring, then get this book!’\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAli Campbell, Youth and Children’s Ministry Consultant, The Resource\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2021-12-06T17:39:27+00:00","created_at":"2021-11-04T12:30:20+00:00","vendor":"Ruth Hassall","type":"Paperback","tags":["Children and family ministry","Kindle","Leadership","Mentoring"],"price":799,"price_min":799,"price_max":799,"available":true,"price_varies":false,"compare_at_price":null,"compare_at_price_min":0,"compare_at_price_max":0,"compare_at_price_varies":false,"variants":[{"id":40974050590911,"title":"Paperback","option1":"Paperback","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"9781800391284","requires_shipping":true,"taxable":false,"featured_image":{"id":30759038255295,"product_id":7052868124863,"position":1,"created_at":"2021-11-04T12:31:53+00:00","updated_at":"2021-11-04T12:31:54+00:00","alt":null,"width":1000,"height":1524,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9781800391284.jpg?v=1636029114","variant_ids":[40974050590911]},"available":true,"name":"Growing Young Leaders: A practical guide to mentoring teens - Paperback","public_title":"Paperback","options":["Paperback"],"price":799,"weight":147,"compare_at_price":null,"inventory_management":"shopify","barcode":"9781800391284","featured_media":{"alt":null,"id":23198977654975,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":0.656,"height":1524,"width":1000,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9781800391284.jpg?v=1636029114"}},"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_allocations":[]}],"images":["\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9781800391284.jpg?v=1636029114","\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/files\/3_d413f54c-efda-416a-ad19-2643a0e1dc25.png?v=1734095633"],"featured_image":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9781800391284.jpg?v=1636029114","options":["Format"],"media":[{"alt":null,"id":23198977654975,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":0.656,"height":1524,"width":1000,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9781800391284.jpg?v=1636029114"},"aspect_ratio":0.656,"height":1524,"media_type":"image","src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9781800391284.jpg?v=1636029114","width":1000},{"alt":null,"id":63560960672124,"position":2,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":0.652,"height":2000,"width":1303,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/files\/3_d413f54c-efda-416a-ad19-2643a0e1dc25.png?v=1734095633"},"aspect_ratio":0.652,"height":2000,"media_type":"image","src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/files\/3_d413f54c-efda-416a-ad19-2643a0e1dc25.png?v=1734095633","width":1303}],"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_groups":[],"content":"\u003cp\u003eThis fully updated second edition of Growing Young Leaders offers practical guidance for all those mentoring 13- to 18-year-olds in a faith context, with a view to nurturing them towards leadership roles. Linked to CPAS Growing Leaders–Youth Edition course, it also works as a stand-alone resource. It defines mentoring, analyses the necessary skills and attributes of a mentor today, encourages good practice, considers safeguarding and, above all, considers how to help young people identify their gifts and grow as Christian disciples.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e'I hope and pray that this book will help release the potential of our young people so that they become even greater disciples of Jesus Christ.'\u003cbr\u003eJohn Sentamu, former Archbishop of York\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAuthor info\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRuth Hassall is a speaker, trainer, author and coach with over 20 years’ experience of working with individuals, churches, organisations and dioceses. As youth and children’s pastor (St Thomas’, Lancaster), national children’s work adviser (CMS), leadership development adviser (CPAS), pastor of training and discipleship (St John’s, Harborne), director of growing younger (Birmingham Diocese), director of discipleship (Blackburn Diocese)and now in a freelance capacity, she’s had the opportunity to experience the joys and challenges of ministry in a number of contexts. Throughout all these roles leadership development and discipleship have been running themes–collectively and individually. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eInterview with Ruth Hassall\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRuth was interviewed by Vicky Gibbens on UCB1, on Monday 24 January.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.ucb.co.uk\/vickygibbens%20\"\u003eTeenagers: Identifying gifts and leading confidently\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003e Endorsements\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘What a helpful book. Positive, poignant, and practical, Ruth acts as a wise guide helping us see the significant impact mentoring teenagers can have.’\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJames Lawrence, CPAS, Leadership Principal\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘I would highly recommend this book for all youth and children’s ministry. Rooted in the Bible, Ruth unpacks important aspects of working one-to-one with young people. It gives the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ of doing this and is an extremely practical book to help young people move forward in their spiritual journey. I really liked the fact that there is a section on the self-care of the mentor, which is essential.’\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSharon Prior, Director of the PACE Trust\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘The Highway Code for mentoring young leaders… essential reading for transformational relationships!’\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAlan Charter, Global Children’s Forum\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘Discipleship will always work best in the context of close, intentional relationships… \u003cem\u003eGrowing Young Leaders\u003c\/em\u003e is a fantastic tool to aid exactly this kind of life-changing discipleship work. The kind of mentoring that it advocates and resources isn’t easy or fast, but it can produce profound results in young lives that will echo into eternity.’\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMartin Saunders, Director, Youthscape’s Satellites Event\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘I find most adults aren’t interested in being a youth leader but are keen to purposefully invest in one young person… Ruth’s book is the best book that I know of which explains clearly the nuts and bolts of mentoring. She makes it easy to set up and start a mentoring programme and for you, as a mentor, to grow in the process. It is so good, it’s the one book that I put into the hands of all the new mentors that we have investing in our young people, and I am delighted that it has been reprinted. This is essential for youth ministry in the 21st century.’\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAndy Castle, CEO and founder, Thrive Youth Ministries\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘This is a perfect little handbook for anyone considering or already mentoring young people. Ruth gives us a perfect blend of the theoretical and biblical basis for mentoring, together with a very practical and insightful guide to all aspects of mentoring young people, all the while being utterly inspirational! Coming from an experienced and authentic thinker and practitioner such as Ruth, it’s a must-read for youth work proficionados and newbies alike.’\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHelena Kittle, YWAM, England\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘This is a brilliant book; Ruth’s lived experience of her writing gives her authenticity and authority. This is a must-read for all youth workers and anyone who wants to see the church grow.’\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRachel Retallick-Cheel, Youth and Support Worker for The Feast Birmingham\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘This isn’t so much a book to read and then move on, as it is a tool box to open and find on every page great advice, tips and suggestions… If you want to embark on the adventure of mentoring, then get this book!’\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAli Campbell, Youth and Children’s Ministry Consultant, The Resource\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e"}
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Growing Young Leaders: A practical guide to mentoring teens
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This fully updated second edition of Growing Young Leaders offers practical guidance for all those mentoring 13- to 18-year-olds in...
{"id":5785318686872,"title":"The Contemplative Struggle: Radical discipleship in a broken world","handle":"the-contemplative-struggle-radical-discipleship-in-a-broken-world","description":"\u003cp\u003eHow do we embrace and work out our call to be disciples in a broken world? In \u003cem\u003eThe Contemplative Struggle\u003c\/em\u003e Ian Cowley sets the central themes of the gospel of John alongside each other – abiding in Christ, conflict, light and darkness, obedience, loving one another – and explores how these can be reconciled in daily life. Drawing on his experience of living in his native South Africa during the apartheid era and challenging understandings of contemplative prayer and spirituality as essentially inward-looking, he highlights the urgent need for Christians to be active in bringing transformation to a suffering world and paints a compelling picture of radical discipleship for today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘Just as we are all meant to be contemplatives and to hear the voice of God in our lives, we are all meant to answer God’s call to be his partners in transfiguring the world. This calling, this encounter with God, is always to send us into the midst of human suffering.’\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eArchbishop Desmond Tutu\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAuthor info\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIan Cowley is an Anglican priest who has served in parish ministry in South Africa, Sheffield, Cambridge and Peterborough. From 2008 to 2016 he was Coordinator of Spirituality and Vocations in the Diocese of Salisbury, where he set up and developed the Contemplative Minister programme. He is the author of five books on spirituality, discipleship and the local church.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eEndorsements\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHere is a much-needed book: the story of the battle against racism, injustice, poverty, held in tension with the necessity of time for contemplation. We need to hear it – there is much here that applies to our world today.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEsther de Waal, writer and scholar\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI do appreciate Ian Cowley’s interleaving of storytelling with spiritual reflection. It is good to have the story of UCM told to a wider audience than South Africa.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIan’s tribute to Steve Biko is welcome and true, and so is his account of white students’ struggle on the matter of conscription.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHis major concern with contemplation fits well into his account of this crucial time in the South African church struggle... \u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJohn D Davies, former bishop of Shrewsbury and one-time national chaplain of the Anglican Students’ Federation of South Africa\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat an incredible book this is! I was deeply moved reading it. It is very inspiring and ignited a hope that we can be agents of change in this world. As someone who has known the value of contemplative prayer and practice in my own life, it felt like a gentle call back to that which I know and love, without being remotely judgemental. In fact, the whole book brings a wonderful balance of challenge without condemnation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI pray that all who read this book will examine afresh their response to the issues raised and explore the riches of contemplative prayer for themselves.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLouise Rose, community projects manager, Fresh Hope Ministry, Stamford\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Contemplative Struggle\u003c\/em\u003e is a generous gift and a profound challenge. Ian Cowley draws on a deep well of (sometimes painful) personal experience to pour out this vision of contemplation in action. If you’re tired of rootless activism and otherworldly spirituality, and you’re looking for the common ground where prayer and protest can flourish, you need to read this book.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Webb, deputy warden of Launde Abbey and author of \u003cem\u003eGod Soaked Life\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eReviews\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTransforming Ministry Winter 2021. Review by Margaret Ives\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere are many books about contemplative prayer as a way of finding one’s true self in an experience of the Divine Presence. This book is unusual in that, while it proclaims that the constant awareness of God in our lives is essential, this is not sufficient to solve our current problems unless it inspires us to ‘radical discipleship in a broken world’. Growing up in South Africa during apartheid, Cowley came to realise that ‘being rooted and grounded in love’ is not a hidden treasure, but must be demonstrated in action against racism and injustice. Looking back, he remembers how hope in God, arising from contemplative prayer, enabled him to work alongside the black consciousness movement in their struggle to change the system, even though the odds were against them. Similarly, he believes, Christians today must use a heightened awareness of God’s love for everything in creation to join with those combating climate change and environmental disaster. This is an inspirational book which does not get bogged down in polemics, but offers a guide to contemplative prayer and some practical steps we can all take towards saving the planet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReviewed by Margaret Ives\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Merton Journal Advent 2021 (Volume 28 no 2). Review by Ben Hopkinson\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHow ephemeral, and how localised, is our consciousness of history. That is why there have to be historians and history departments, because, so easily, what we know of the horrors some people are living through either goes quickly to the back of the mind or, by the next generation, becomes an unknown. Our attitude of localisation means that what happens to others may seem to have nothing to do with us. So Jewish people, for instance, have to campaign to keep the memory of the holocaust alive, and, while there may be an especially tense rivalry in games of football between England and Germany, how many remember what fascism really meant as a threat to the world? And Tiananmen Square?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI say this because Ian Cowley's short but powerful book finds the\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eorigins of what was, to him, the revelation of prayer as contemplation, in the racial cauldron of South Africa in the depths of the apartheid regime of the last century.1 His epiphany came through the University Christian Movement when he was a student at the University of Natal in Pietermaritzberg in the 1970s. There he came to understand the terrible sinfulness of the racial divide that ruled South Africa, and his life's course was changed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor me, Cowley's vivid account of South African life was a revision lesson. I was serving in Botswana at that time and, although it was a country with a quite different ethos, we in the Church were not isolated and were very aware of what was going on with our neighbours, not only South Africa but Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) as well. I became peripherally involved in some anti-apartheid activity that crossed the border and drew me in, so I relate to Cowley's descriptions. I knew some of the people he talks about, and reading his book I was taken back to a time which, while key in my life, has been overlaid by layers of subsequent life and work. Even experience has an ephemeral quality.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHence the thoughts about the ephemeral quality of contemporary\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ehistory. Who remembers even the word apartheid now, other than in an intellectual sense, apart from those who suffered it? The question applies even more strongly to those who are not South Africans. While there were, in Britain, some noble anti-apartheid activists who helped to cause profound change, their activity was outside the main stream of life and often looked upon with suspicion. Most people got on with life without worrying about South Africa. Now, bar Covid, that country is a favourite of tourists, who return to Europe unbrushed by a history that was all consuming at the time and still has many offshoots. Most were unborn when apartheid reigned.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI have to ask, then, whether for Cowley to use his South African life as a base for his argument is too esoteric. I hope not and I am sure it need not be, for not only does it gain great strength from being so personal, but it also makes us think into situations beyond our own circles. To think ourselves into apartheid South Africa is a good exercise.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e'There were giants on the earth in those days' is a quotation which comes to mind.2 South Africa was then, and still is, an extraordinary country, captivating, in the sense of drawing you in until you are engrossed. It is a land of wonderful beauty but what astounded me even more were the people one met. The mass of the people are a very interesting historical and anthropological mix, with their histories, cultures and divisions, but I will concentrate on two smaller sets: those implementing the apartheid policy and those who opposed them, struggling for what was later called, by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a \u003cstrong\u003e'rainbow nation'.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe first thing to say is that these people were honed by apartheid. The giant of apartheid was Hendrick Vervoerd, the SA president who was assassinated in 1966. He gave the philosophical basis to the National Party's policy of racial separation and white dominance, which was implemented ruthlessly. It was a giant endeavour, and the skills developed by the Bureau of State Security (BOSS) were second to none. Their use of technology was as sophisticated as possible for that time, and their information gathering work was everywhere. Furthermore, they knew what was going on elsewhere in the world, and could use it very cleverly in persuading people to conform.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe resistors were also people of exceptional knowledge, understanding and courage. There are great names: Nelson Mandela, Albert Luthuli, Helen Suzman, the Black Sash leaders, Beyers Naude, Trevor Huddlestone, Desmond Tutu, Steve Biko, to name but a few. But there were many, many more who worked and witnessed at continual \u003cspan\u003erisk to themselves, both from BOSS and also from being denigrated by the mass of whites happy with apartheid. Organisations like the University Christian Movement (UCM) were banned and many people had their passports removed or were put under house arrest. I felt both very \u003c\/span\u003efortunate and also hugely humbled to meet some of these women and men. I did not meet Ian Cowley, but I am confident that he would be of these giants.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne of the most noticeable aspects of the struggle against apartheid and for justice was how it had such a strong Christian motivation. I have to be careful here, because Christianity was active on both sides. The Afrikaner Dutch Reformed Church played a significant part in giving theological justification to apartheid, yet there were some notable DRC giants, the Bonhoeffers of their day, who rebelled against this, and were thrown out of the church. They played a great part. Nevertheless, it was very much among people from other churches that the understanding grew that the Christian law of love meant equality applied universally.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCowley grew up on a Natal farm, with church, Anglican and formal, on Sundays, remembered as very boring. It was at university that faith caught him through the remarkable, if short lived, UCM. He describes how vibrant student worship attracted him and how he worked through the trauma - for it was a trauma - of mixing with people of other races and finding them human. After some vicissitudes, he hears his vocation to the priesthood in the Anglican Church of the Province of South Africa and eventually he comes to England, where he is first a parish priest and then Coordinator of Vocations and Spirituality in the Diocese of Salisbury, where he set up the Contemplative Minister Programme.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe great question that runs through the book is: what does it mean to be held firm in Christ in the centre of our being and to live with integrity in the 21st century? Through his student days he comes to see the sinfulness of the way power is held and exercised in South Africa, and to long for the justice that he discovers through his Christian faith. How does he hold the two in balance, so that the one undergirds the other? In other words, there is a double question: on the one hand, how can you be an activist, mixing in the hurly, sometimes unsavoury, burly of life and be true to Christ? On the other, how can you be true to Christ without, in some way, being mixed up in the difficult life of practising the love of neighbour in all its roughness? Through friends and mentors and the trial and error of trying to live a life for justice, with mistakes and setbacks and leaps forward, he discovers prayer as God's invitation to see the world with His eyes and to feel it as He feels it. He reads Merton and his development from longing to be solitary to understanding that the world needs the witness of the contemplative if it is ever going to overcome evil with good, and that means that the contemplative has to know and be known.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNow in South Africa the struggle against apartheid is over and an enormous wickedness has been demolished. In fact, though, when one injustice is stricken, the hydra of evil raises another. A strength of Cowley's book is that it is not only a memoir but makes use of his experience to show how Christian love is showing up many other aspects of life on the planet which threaten true human living, that is living as the \u003cspan\u003epeople of God. As we are drawn in to the presence of God, how do we live with the divide of rich and poor and with other forms of inequality; with climate change; with war, national ambition and xenophobia; with the continuing oppression of peoples in many parts of the world; with homelessness in our own country? The list goes on and on. Simply, how do we help to make the world more Godly, restoring the creation which \u003c\/span\u003eHe saw was good?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eContemplative prayer is not shown as an opt-out but as the source of strength and ability. It is a struggle because of our fallen human nature, which is continually being pressed to sway one way or another. A hard struggle, but contemplation shows us how to 'put on the whole armour of God, for our struggle is not against the enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in heavenly places.'\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Contemplative Struggle \u003c\/em\u003eis written to encourage us workaday Christians as we try to follow Jesus in our daily lives. In this it certainly succeeds, and the author adds an excellent introduction to contemplative practice as an appendix.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTwo years ago I reviewed Ian Cowley's previous book, \u003cem\u003eThe \u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eContemplative Response: Leadership and Ministry in a Distracted Culture. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003eI suggested that it needed another volume, looking at how we can bring understanding of the love of God to the world outside the Christian community. In many ways this book does this, but may I ask Ian to set fingers to word processor once more and tackle the question of the contemplative response to the problems posed by today's atheists. When we talk of God in a universe of which astrophysics has revolutionised our understanding, how is He showing us how to talk of Him and act as His people? I find this an urgent question to stir the hearts of many. To ask an author for another book is, surely, a compliment.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNotes\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1. Apartheid was the policy of segregation and political, social, and economic\u003cbr\u003ediscrimination against the non-white majority in the Republic of South\u003cbr\u003eAfrica. The extreme racial segregation of apartheid lasted from 1948 to 1994 and included such restrictions as where people of certain races could live or own land, what jobs they could hold, and who could and couldn't participate \u003cstrong\u003ein government.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2. Genesis 6:4\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3. Ephesians 6 :11-12.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBen Hopkinson \u003c\/strong\u003eis a priest, living in retirement in Northumberland. He was in the kindergarten of contemplation in 2019 and has still to enter the reception class.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChurch Times 25.06.21. Review by John D. Davies\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIan Cowley is a white South African man, born nearly 70 years ago, brought up in the benign rural environment of Natal. If he had fulfilled expectations, he would have become a conventional Anglican gentleman, a superior English-speaking member of the white race.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e But Cowley’s life took a somewhat different course. His book is primarily about spirituality; but, to convey his message, he has to tell something of his life-story. This starts with his entry into the University of Natal in Pietermaritzburg, to study law and business administration. By the time that he started at university, the 1959 Extension of University Education Act had taken effect.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis created a scattered establishment of black tribal colleges, segregated on racial and ethnic criteria. The previously ‘open’ universities, in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Natal, were restricted to white students only; they became white tribal colleges.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut there were vigorous national student bodies; these functioned on these segregated campuses, but they flourished as racially integrated organisations at regional and national level. For both black and white students, their conferences provided a converting experience, an alternative vision of society, where black and white people could meet as genuine friends and not only on a master\/servant basis; and this was at a time when the apartheid machine was grinding ever more successfully, and when hope for change was wearing very thin.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe integrated organisations enabled the generation of courageous, independent-minded students, who were prepared to defy the expectations of parents, teachers, and government. They included the Anglican Students’ Federation and the ecumenical University Christian Movement. For Cowley, they opened up a whole new world. They brought him into contact with impressive characters of all race-groups, people such as the dynamic black students’ leader Steve Biko (who would, in my view, have become the natural successor to President Mandela, if he had not been cruelly done to death by the Security Police).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese ecumenical organisations were viewed with suspicion by some other Christians, notably by Evangelicals who had been caught up in the newly arrived Charismatic Movement. For them, the ecumenical groups were unbiblical humanists, dangerous quasi-Marxists. For the ecumenical types, the Evangelicals were pietistic, concerned only with their individual salvation, indifferent to the injustices experienced by most of the population. But, for those who were impressed by the Black Consciousness influence, this hassle was merely white people’s games, irrelevant luxury. The Anglican Bishop Alphaeus Zulu summarised their position: ‘We Africans have no need of a Charismatic Movement — we have always been charismatic, without any pressure from outside.’\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePeople like Cowley were attracted by the Evangelical emphasis on conversion, but it had to include conversion from the heresies and illusions of apartheid, which were otherwise winning all the battles. A new ingredient was being discovered in the Christian mix. This was where Cowley found himself.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCowley was deeply drawn to the insights of medieval spiritual teachers such as Richard Rolle and Thomas à Kempis, and Thomas Merton of our own day. This is the kind of commitment which underlies his book. Readers who are interested in spirituality will be attracted by his excellent summary of the discipline of contemplation. But, to get there, they will need to work through Cowley’s exploration of the demonic powers of racism, financial injustice, and indifference to the degradation of the environment.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHis spirituality has been formed in a situation of loss, of oppression, of cruelty, when all the signs were that the powers of evil were winning. His kind of contemplation draws us to awareness of God’s critique of the disobedience in our human systems, and into commitment to the struggle for the realisation of God’s Kingdom. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd this is not only for South Africa; Cowley was ordained priest in his native land and served in parish ministry there. But he came to England some years ago, and has been a parish priest and adviser in spirituality in English dioceses. For South Africa and for Britain, his book provides a well-formed and personally validated guidance concerning the claims of our Creator upon our obedience and our energies. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Rt Revd John D. Davies was National Chaplain to the Anglican Students’ Federation of Southern Africa, and Convener of the Council of Churches’ Commission which created the University Christian Movement\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview by Nicholas King SJ\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003eChristians are often charged with being of 'no earthly use' (because their gaze is fixed on the heavens); evangelicals find themselves accused of giving insufficient time to contemplative prayer; white Christian South Africans often have it alleged against them that their discipleship is pure self-indulgence, because they benefited so largely from the sin of apartheid; and that the Roman Catholic tradition has nothing to offer Christians today. In this splendid book, those four myths are soundly 'busted': Ian Cowley is an evangelical Christian who has given himself to transform this unjust world into something that looks like the Kingdom of God; he has for many years as a busy Anglican priest given himself over to the practice of solitary contemplative prayer (and offers some useful tips about how to approach it). More than that, he is a white South African whose Christianity drove him, at some considerable cost, to engage in student activism against the apartheid regime, and who reveals his immense admiration for Steve Biko, who died that appalling death in the hands of the SA Police. He has, moreover, drunk gratefully of the waters of the Roman Catholic contemplative tradition, including Thomas a Kempis, Richard Rolle, and that remarkable Cistercian monk, Thomas Merton. He has, besides, the Protestant gift of a solid grasp of Scripture and the awareness that it can change your life. He was also alert to the dangers of environmental pollution at a time when such interests were dismissed as mindlessly sentimental “tree-hugging”. Nowadays we wish that more students had followed his example, half a century ago. This book is to be warmly recommended.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2020-09-17T14:48:53+01:00","created_at":"2020-09-17T14:48:51+01:00","vendor":"Ian Cowley","type":"Paperback","tags":["Discipleship","Leadership","Mar-21","Mission"],"price":899,"price_min":899,"price_max":899,"available":true,"price_varies":false,"compare_at_price":null,"compare_at_price_min":0,"compare_at_price_max":0,"compare_at_price_varies":false,"variants":[{"id":36353659338904,"title":"Default Title","option1":"Default Title","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"9780857469823","requires_shipping":true,"taxable":false,"featured_image":null,"available":true,"name":"The Contemplative Struggle: Radical discipleship in a broken world","public_title":null,"options":["Default Title"],"price":899,"weight":163,"compare_at_price":null,"inventory_management":"shopify","barcode":"9780857469823","requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_allocations":[]}],"images":["\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857469823.jpg?v=1600350533","\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857469823-bc.jpg?v=1600350533"],"featured_image":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857469823.jpg?v=1600350533","options":["Title"],"media":[{"alt":null,"id":11679577145496,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":0.656,"height":1524,"width":1000,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857469823.jpg?v=1600350533"},"aspect_ratio":0.656,"height":1524,"media_type":"image","src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857469823.jpg?v=1600350533","width":1000},{"alt":null,"id":11679577211032,"position":2,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":0.656,"height":1524,"width":1000,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857469823-bc.jpg?v=1600350533"},"aspect_ratio":0.656,"height":1524,"media_type":"image","src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857469823-bc.jpg?v=1600350533","width":1000}],"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_groups":[],"content":"\u003cp\u003eHow do we embrace and work out our call to be disciples in a broken world? In \u003cem\u003eThe Contemplative Struggle\u003c\/em\u003e Ian Cowley sets the central themes of the gospel of John alongside each other – abiding in Christ, conflict, light and darkness, obedience, loving one another – and explores how these can be reconciled in daily life. Drawing on his experience of living in his native South Africa during the apartheid era and challenging understandings of contemplative prayer and spirituality as essentially inward-looking, he highlights the urgent need for Christians to be active in bringing transformation to a suffering world and paints a compelling picture of radical discipleship for today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘Just as we are all meant to be contemplatives and to hear the voice of God in our lives, we are all meant to answer God’s call to be his partners in transfiguring the world. This calling, this encounter with God, is always to send us into the midst of human suffering.’\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eArchbishop Desmond Tutu\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAuthor info\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIan Cowley is an Anglican priest who has served in parish ministry in South Africa, Sheffield, Cambridge and Peterborough. From 2008 to 2016 he was Coordinator of Spirituality and Vocations in the Diocese of Salisbury, where he set up and developed the Contemplative Minister programme. He is the author of five books on spirituality, discipleship and the local church.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eEndorsements\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHere is a much-needed book: the story of the battle against racism, injustice, poverty, held in tension with the necessity of time for contemplation. We need to hear it – there is much here that applies to our world today.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEsther de Waal, writer and scholar\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI do appreciate Ian Cowley’s interleaving of storytelling with spiritual reflection. It is good to have the story of UCM told to a wider audience than South Africa.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIan’s tribute to Steve Biko is welcome and true, and so is his account of white students’ struggle on the matter of conscription.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHis major concern with contemplation fits well into his account of this crucial time in the South African church struggle... \u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJohn D Davies, former bishop of Shrewsbury and one-time national chaplain of the Anglican Students’ Federation of South Africa\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat an incredible book this is! I was deeply moved reading it. It is very inspiring and ignited a hope that we can be agents of change in this world. As someone who has known the value of contemplative prayer and practice in my own life, it felt like a gentle call back to that which I know and love, without being remotely judgemental. In fact, the whole book brings a wonderful balance of challenge without condemnation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI pray that all who read this book will examine afresh their response to the issues raised and explore the riches of contemplative prayer for themselves.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLouise Rose, community projects manager, Fresh Hope Ministry, Stamford\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Contemplative Struggle\u003c\/em\u003e is a generous gift and a profound challenge. Ian Cowley draws on a deep well of (sometimes painful) personal experience to pour out this vision of contemplation in action. If you’re tired of rootless activism and otherworldly spirituality, and you’re looking for the common ground where prayer and protest can flourish, you need to read this book.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Webb, deputy warden of Launde Abbey and author of \u003cem\u003eGod Soaked Life\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eReviews\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTransforming Ministry Winter 2021. Review by Margaret Ives\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere are many books about contemplative prayer as a way of finding one’s true self in an experience of the Divine Presence. This book is unusual in that, while it proclaims that the constant awareness of God in our lives is essential, this is not sufficient to solve our current problems unless it inspires us to ‘radical discipleship in a broken world’. Growing up in South Africa during apartheid, Cowley came to realise that ‘being rooted and grounded in love’ is not a hidden treasure, but must be demonstrated in action against racism and injustice. Looking back, he remembers how hope in God, arising from contemplative prayer, enabled him to work alongside the black consciousness movement in their struggle to change the system, even though the odds were against them. Similarly, he believes, Christians today must use a heightened awareness of God’s love for everything in creation to join with those combating climate change and environmental disaster. This is an inspirational book which does not get bogged down in polemics, but offers a guide to contemplative prayer and some practical steps we can all take towards saving the planet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReviewed by Margaret Ives\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Merton Journal Advent 2021 (Volume 28 no 2). Review by Ben Hopkinson\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHow ephemeral, and how localised, is our consciousness of history. That is why there have to be historians and history departments, because, so easily, what we know of the horrors some people are living through either goes quickly to the back of the mind or, by the next generation, becomes an unknown. Our attitude of localisation means that what happens to others may seem to have nothing to do with us. So Jewish people, for instance, have to campaign to keep the memory of the holocaust alive, and, while there may be an especially tense rivalry in games of football between England and Germany, how many remember what fascism really meant as a threat to the world? And Tiananmen Square?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI say this because Ian Cowley's short but powerful book finds the\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eorigins of what was, to him, the revelation of prayer as contemplation, in the racial cauldron of South Africa in the depths of the apartheid regime of the last century.1 His epiphany came through the University Christian Movement when he was a student at the University of Natal in Pietermaritzberg in the 1970s. There he came to understand the terrible sinfulness of the racial divide that ruled South Africa, and his life's course was changed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor me, Cowley's vivid account of South African life was a revision lesson. I was serving in Botswana at that time and, although it was a country with a quite different ethos, we in the Church were not isolated and were very aware of what was going on with our neighbours, not only South Africa but Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) as well. I became peripherally involved in some anti-apartheid activity that crossed the border and drew me in, so I relate to Cowley's descriptions. I knew some of the people he talks about, and reading his book I was taken back to a time which, while key in my life, has been overlaid by layers of subsequent life and work. Even experience has an ephemeral quality.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHence the thoughts about the ephemeral quality of contemporary\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ehistory. Who remembers even the word apartheid now, other than in an intellectual sense, apart from those who suffered it? The question applies even more strongly to those who are not South Africans. While there were, in Britain, some noble anti-apartheid activists who helped to cause profound change, their activity was outside the main stream of life and often looked upon with suspicion. Most people got on with life without worrying about South Africa. Now, bar Covid, that country is a favourite of tourists, who return to Europe unbrushed by a history that was all consuming at the time and still has many offshoots. Most were unborn when apartheid reigned.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI have to ask, then, whether for Cowley to use his South African life as a base for his argument is too esoteric. I hope not and I am sure it need not be, for not only does it gain great strength from being so personal, but it also makes us think into situations beyond our own circles. To think ourselves into apartheid South Africa is a good exercise.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e'There were giants on the earth in those days' is a quotation which comes to mind.2 South Africa was then, and still is, an extraordinary country, captivating, in the sense of drawing you in until you are engrossed. It is a land of wonderful beauty but what astounded me even more were the people one met. The mass of the people are a very interesting historical and anthropological mix, with their histories, cultures and divisions, but I will concentrate on two smaller sets: those implementing the apartheid policy and those who opposed them, struggling for what was later called, by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a \u003cstrong\u003e'rainbow nation'.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe first thing to say is that these people were honed by apartheid. The giant of apartheid was Hendrick Vervoerd, the SA president who was assassinated in 1966. He gave the philosophical basis to the National Party's policy of racial separation and white dominance, which was implemented ruthlessly. It was a giant endeavour, and the skills developed by the Bureau of State Security (BOSS) were second to none. Their use of technology was as sophisticated as possible for that time, and their information gathering work was everywhere. Furthermore, they knew what was going on elsewhere in the world, and could use it very cleverly in persuading people to conform.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe resistors were also people of exceptional knowledge, understanding and courage. There are great names: Nelson Mandela, Albert Luthuli, Helen Suzman, the Black Sash leaders, Beyers Naude, Trevor Huddlestone, Desmond Tutu, Steve Biko, to name but a few. But there were many, many more who worked and witnessed at continual \u003cspan\u003erisk to themselves, both from BOSS and also from being denigrated by the mass of whites happy with apartheid. Organisations like the University Christian Movement (UCM) were banned and many people had their passports removed or were put under house arrest. I felt both very \u003c\/span\u003efortunate and also hugely humbled to meet some of these women and men. I did not meet Ian Cowley, but I am confident that he would be of these giants.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne of the most noticeable aspects of the struggle against apartheid and for justice was how it had such a strong Christian motivation. I have to be careful here, because Christianity was active on both sides. The Afrikaner Dutch Reformed Church played a significant part in giving theological justification to apartheid, yet there were some notable DRC giants, the Bonhoeffers of their day, who rebelled against this, and were thrown out of the church. They played a great part. Nevertheless, it was very much among people from other churches that the understanding grew that the Christian law of love meant equality applied universally.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCowley grew up on a Natal farm, with church, Anglican and formal, on Sundays, remembered as very boring. It was at university that faith caught him through the remarkable, if short lived, UCM. He describes how vibrant student worship attracted him and how he worked through the trauma - for it was a trauma - of mixing with people of other races and finding them human. After some vicissitudes, he hears his vocation to the priesthood in the Anglican Church of the Province of South Africa and eventually he comes to England, where he is first a parish priest and then Coordinator of Vocations and Spirituality in the Diocese of Salisbury, where he set up the Contemplative Minister Programme.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe great question that runs through the book is: what does it mean to be held firm in Christ in the centre of our being and to live with integrity in the 21st century? Through his student days he comes to see the sinfulness of the way power is held and exercised in South Africa, and to long for the justice that he discovers through his Christian faith. How does he hold the two in balance, so that the one undergirds the other? In other words, there is a double question: on the one hand, how can you be an activist, mixing in the hurly, sometimes unsavoury, burly of life and be true to Christ? On the other, how can you be true to Christ without, in some way, being mixed up in the difficult life of practising the love of neighbour in all its roughness? Through friends and mentors and the trial and error of trying to live a life for justice, with mistakes and setbacks and leaps forward, he discovers prayer as God's invitation to see the world with His eyes and to feel it as He feels it. He reads Merton and his development from longing to be solitary to understanding that the world needs the witness of the contemplative if it is ever going to overcome evil with good, and that means that the contemplative has to know and be known.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNow in South Africa the struggle against apartheid is over and an enormous wickedness has been demolished. In fact, though, when one injustice is stricken, the hydra of evil raises another. A strength of Cowley's book is that it is not only a memoir but makes use of his experience to show how Christian love is showing up many other aspects of life on the planet which threaten true human living, that is living as the \u003cspan\u003epeople of God. As we are drawn in to the presence of God, how do we live with the divide of rich and poor and with other forms of inequality; with climate change; with war, national ambition and xenophobia; with the continuing oppression of peoples in many parts of the world; with homelessness in our own country? The list goes on and on. Simply, how do we help to make the world more Godly, restoring the creation which \u003c\/span\u003eHe saw was good?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eContemplative prayer is not shown as an opt-out but as the source of strength and ability. It is a struggle because of our fallen human nature, which is continually being pressed to sway one way or another. A hard struggle, but contemplation shows us how to 'put on the whole armour of God, for our struggle is not against the enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in heavenly places.'\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Contemplative Struggle \u003c\/em\u003eis written to encourage us workaday Christians as we try to follow Jesus in our daily lives. In this it certainly succeeds, and the author adds an excellent introduction to contemplative practice as an appendix.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTwo years ago I reviewed Ian Cowley's previous book, \u003cem\u003eThe \u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eContemplative Response: Leadership and Ministry in a Distracted Culture. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003eI suggested that it needed another volume, looking at how we can bring understanding of the love of God to the world outside the Christian community. In many ways this book does this, but may I ask Ian to set fingers to word processor once more and tackle the question of the contemplative response to the problems posed by today's atheists. When we talk of God in a universe of which astrophysics has revolutionised our understanding, how is He showing us how to talk of Him and act as His people? I find this an urgent question to stir the hearts of many. To ask an author for another book is, surely, a compliment.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNotes\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1. Apartheid was the policy of segregation and political, social, and economic\u003cbr\u003ediscrimination against the non-white majority in the Republic of South\u003cbr\u003eAfrica. The extreme racial segregation of apartheid lasted from 1948 to 1994 and included such restrictions as where people of certain races could live or own land, what jobs they could hold, and who could and couldn't participate \u003cstrong\u003ein government.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2. Genesis 6:4\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3. Ephesians 6 :11-12.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBen Hopkinson \u003c\/strong\u003eis a priest, living in retirement in Northumberland. He was in the kindergarten of contemplation in 2019 and has still to enter the reception class.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChurch Times 25.06.21. Review by John D. Davies\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIan Cowley is a white South African man, born nearly 70 years ago, brought up in the benign rural environment of Natal. If he had fulfilled expectations, he would have become a conventional Anglican gentleman, a superior English-speaking member of the white race.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e But Cowley’s life took a somewhat different course. His book is primarily about spirituality; but, to convey his message, he has to tell something of his life-story. This starts with his entry into the University of Natal in Pietermaritzburg, to study law and business administration. By the time that he started at university, the 1959 Extension of University Education Act had taken effect.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis created a scattered establishment of black tribal colleges, segregated on racial and ethnic criteria. The previously ‘open’ universities, in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Natal, were restricted to white students only; they became white tribal colleges.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut there were vigorous national student bodies; these functioned on these segregated campuses, but they flourished as racially integrated organisations at regional and national level. For both black and white students, their conferences provided a converting experience, an alternative vision of society, where black and white people could meet as genuine friends and not only on a master\/servant basis; and this was at a time when the apartheid machine was grinding ever more successfully, and when hope for change was wearing very thin.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe integrated organisations enabled the generation of courageous, independent-minded students, who were prepared to defy the expectations of parents, teachers, and government. They included the Anglican Students’ Federation and the ecumenical University Christian Movement. For Cowley, they opened up a whole new world. They brought him into contact with impressive characters of all race-groups, people such as the dynamic black students’ leader Steve Biko (who would, in my view, have become the natural successor to President Mandela, if he had not been cruelly done to death by the Security Police).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese ecumenical organisations were viewed with suspicion by some other Christians, notably by Evangelicals who had been caught up in the newly arrived Charismatic Movement. For them, the ecumenical groups were unbiblical humanists, dangerous quasi-Marxists. For the ecumenical types, the Evangelicals were pietistic, concerned only with their individual salvation, indifferent to the injustices experienced by most of the population. But, for those who were impressed by the Black Consciousness influence, this hassle was merely white people’s games, irrelevant luxury. The Anglican Bishop Alphaeus Zulu summarised their position: ‘We Africans have no need of a Charismatic Movement — we have always been charismatic, without any pressure from outside.’\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePeople like Cowley were attracted by the Evangelical emphasis on conversion, but it had to include conversion from the heresies and illusions of apartheid, which were otherwise winning all the battles. A new ingredient was being discovered in the Christian mix. This was where Cowley found himself.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCowley was deeply drawn to the insights of medieval spiritual teachers such as Richard Rolle and Thomas à Kempis, and Thomas Merton of our own day. This is the kind of commitment which underlies his book. Readers who are interested in spirituality will be attracted by his excellent summary of the discipline of contemplation. But, to get there, they will need to work through Cowley’s exploration of the demonic powers of racism, financial injustice, and indifference to the degradation of the environment.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHis spirituality has been formed in a situation of loss, of oppression, of cruelty, when all the signs were that the powers of evil were winning. His kind of contemplation draws us to awareness of God’s critique of the disobedience in our human systems, and into commitment to the struggle for the realisation of God’s Kingdom. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd this is not only for South Africa; Cowley was ordained priest in his native land and served in parish ministry there. But he came to England some years ago, and has been a parish priest and adviser in spirituality in English dioceses. For South Africa and for Britain, his book provides a well-formed and personally validated guidance concerning the claims of our Creator upon our obedience and our energies. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Rt Revd John D. Davies was National Chaplain to the Anglican Students’ Federation of Southern Africa, and Convener of the Council of Churches’ Commission which created the University Christian Movement\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview by Nicholas King SJ\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003eChristians are often charged with being of 'no earthly use' (because their gaze is fixed on the heavens); evangelicals find themselves accused of giving insufficient time to contemplative prayer; white Christian South Africans often have it alleged against them that their discipleship is pure self-indulgence, because they benefited so largely from the sin of apartheid; and that the Roman Catholic tradition has nothing to offer Christians today. In this splendid book, those four myths are soundly 'busted': Ian Cowley is an evangelical Christian who has given himself to transform this unjust world into something that looks like the Kingdom of God; he has for many years as a busy Anglican priest given himself over to the practice of solitary contemplative prayer (and offers some useful tips about how to approach it). More than that, he is a white South African whose Christianity drove him, at some considerable cost, to engage in student activism against the apartheid regime, and who reveals his immense admiration for Steve Biko, who died that appalling death in the hands of the SA Police. He has, moreover, drunk gratefully of the waters of the Roman Catholic contemplative tradition, including Thomas a Kempis, Richard Rolle, and that remarkable Cistercian monk, Thomas Merton. He has, besides, the Protestant gift of a solid grasp of Scripture and the awareness that it can change your life. He was also alert to the dangers of environmental pollution at a time when such interests were dismissed as mindlessly sentimental “tree-hugging”. Nowadays we wish that more students had followed his example, half a century ago. This book is to be warmly recommended.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e"}
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{"id":4853409153163,"title":"Seven Sacred Spaces: Portals to deeper community life in Christ","handle":"seven-sacred-spaces-portals-to-deeper-community-life-in-christ","description":"\u003cp\u003eToo often people’s understanding of and engagement with ‘church’ is reduced to corporate worship, when it is so much more. George Lings identifies seven characteristic elements in Christian communities through the ages, which when held in balance enable a richer expression of discipleship, mission and community.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the monastic tradition these elements have distinctive locations: cell (being alone with God), chapel (corporate public worship), chapter (making decisions), cloister (planned and surprising meetings), garden (the place of work), refectory (food and hospitality) and scriptorium (study and passing on knowledge). Through this lens George Lings explores how these seven elements relate to our individual and communal walk with God, hold good for church and family life, and appear in wider society.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHear more from George Lings in an interview with Fresh Expressions:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ciframe style=\"border: none; overflow: hidden;\" height=\"315\" width=\"560\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Ffreshexpression%2Fvideos%2F980536085782965%2F\u0026amp;show_text=0\u0026amp;width=560\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" allowtransparency=\"true\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAuthor info\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCanon Dr George Lings has been a banker, student, vicar, writer, mentor and researcher. From 1997 to 2017 he led Church Army’s Research Unit specialising in fresh expressions of church and gaining a PhD. In 2017 he was awarded the Canterbury Cross for outstanding service to the Church of England. He now serves as a companion of Northumbria Community, vice-president of The Bible Reading Fellowship and consultant to a number of individuals and dioceses.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eEndorsements\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn weaving together ancient monastic wisdom, fresh insights from contemporary developments and the author’s rich experiences of the adventure of faith, Seven Sacred Spaces provides a valuable, timely and practical resource for all on the Jesus Way.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSteve Aisthorpe, author of The Invisible Church and mission development worker for the Church of Scotland\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis book is knowledgeable, quirky and inspirational. The seven sacred spaces are drawn from their monastic roots to provide a framework for discipleship, Christian community and wider human well-being. As someone who has long inhabited the seven sacred spaces in his own discipleship, George Lings enthuses about their potential, illustrating it from the experience of a variety of contemporary expressions of church.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSally Gaze, archdeacon for rural mission and leader of the Lightwave Community, Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGeorge Lings is a radical, one who believes that we should explore the deep roots of faith if we are to live well. Seven Sacred Spaces distils the wisdom of decades of looking, listening, reflecting. Read it if you want to be a deep-rooted Christian today. I recommend it very, very highly.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePaul Bayes, Bishop of Liverpool\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHere we are presented with the challenging proposal that the rhythm of monastic life with its seven sacred spaces – refectory, cell, scriptorium, chapel, garden, cloister and chapter – does not need to be confined to the monastery. Rather it can shape and enrich the lives of men and women of all ages and in all states of life.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSister Frances Dominica OBE, DL, founder of the first children’s hospice, Helen House\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis book drew me into a world of monastic spaces and monastic practices. Exploring these seven spaces, with current and historic examples, helped me to reflect on the value of these distinctive modes and ways of being church. I highly recommend Seven Sacred Spaces to those who are interested in finding out more about monasticism and those imagining how church can develop alongside and beyond the Sunday service. It has certainly helped me to imagine how these spaces and practices could enhance discipleship, community and mission within my own context of a suburban parish church.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRevd Dr Beth Keith, Associate Vicar, All Saints Ecclesall Sheffield\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGeorge Lings is as perceptive and prophetic as ever, as he explores what the ancient idea of the seven sacred spaces means for us today. Much of this exploration comes out of George’s own experience and is all the richer for this. Whether you are thinking about your own life or your church community, this book is worth reading. There is a wealth of practical experience in this book which can bring change and transformation for you and your church.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRevd Dave Male, director of evangelism and discipleship, Church of England\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn his typical thorough, imaginative and fair way, George Lings explores some essential disciplines from the ancient life and witness of the monastery, and he demonstrates how a grasp of these can radically affect how we live and witness for Christ in today’s culture. Anyone reading this will be inspired and challenged by reading George’s fascinating study of each of these sacred spaces.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCanon Michael Mitton, writer, speaker, spiritual director, and canon emeritus at Derby Cathedral\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOur church and other ecclesial physical spaces are a crucial resource that we are once again beginning to value in our increasingly post-secular, post-Christendom context. I unreservedly recommend this book that draws on the story and purposes of Christians committed to radical community and Christian discipleship to reimagine church and church buildings for the reality of mission and ministry for today.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIan Mobsby, assistant dean for fresh expressions in the Diocese of Southwark, guardian of the New Monastic Society of the Holy Trinity, and interim pioneer rector at Christ Church Southwark\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2020-05-01T16:32:57+01:00","created_at":"2020-05-01T17:19:13+01:00","vendor":"George Lings","type":"Paperback","tags":["Group reading","Kindle","Leadership","Sep-20","Spirituality"],"price":1099,"price_min":1099,"price_max":1099,"available":true,"price_varies":false,"compare_at_price":null,"compare_at_price_min":0,"compare_at_price_max":0,"compare_at_price_varies":false,"variants":[{"id":33575180533899,"title":"Default Title","option1":"Default Title","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"9780857469342","requires_shipping":true,"taxable":false,"featured_image":null,"available":true,"name":"Seven Sacred Spaces: Portals to deeper community life in Christ","public_title":null,"options":["Default Title"],"price":1099,"weight":260,"compare_at_price":null,"inventory_management":"shopify","barcode":"9780857469342","requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_allocations":[]}],"images":["\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857469342.jpg?v=1588349955"],"featured_image":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857469342.jpg?v=1588349955","options":["Title"],"media":[{"alt":null,"id":7670218981515,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":0.656,"height":1524,"width":1000,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857469342.jpg?v=1588349955"},"aspect_ratio":0.656,"height":1524,"media_type":"image","src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857469342.jpg?v=1588349955","width":1000}],"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_groups":[],"content":"\u003cp\u003eToo often people’s understanding of and engagement with ‘church’ is reduced to corporate worship, when it is so much more. George Lings identifies seven characteristic elements in Christian communities through the ages, which when held in balance enable a richer expression of discipleship, mission and community.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the monastic tradition these elements have distinctive locations: cell (being alone with God), chapel (corporate public worship), chapter (making decisions), cloister (planned and surprising meetings), garden (the place of work), refectory (food and hospitality) and scriptorium (study and passing on knowledge). Through this lens George Lings explores how these seven elements relate to our individual and communal walk with God, hold good for church and family life, and appear in wider society.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHear more from George Lings in an interview with Fresh Expressions:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ciframe style=\"border: none; overflow: hidden;\" height=\"315\" width=\"560\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Ffreshexpression%2Fvideos%2F980536085782965%2F\u0026amp;show_text=0\u0026amp;width=560\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" allowtransparency=\"true\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAuthor info\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCanon Dr George Lings has been a banker, student, vicar, writer, mentor and researcher. From 1997 to 2017 he led Church Army’s Research Unit specialising in fresh expressions of church and gaining a PhD. In 2017 he was awarded the Canterbury Cross for outstanding service to the Church of England. He now serves as a companion of Northumbria Community, vice-president of The Bible Reading Fellowship and consultant to a number of individuals and dioceses.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eEndorsements\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn weaving together ancient monastic wisdom, fresh insights from contemporary developments and the author’s rich experiences of the adventure of faith, Seven Sacred Spaces provides a valuable, timely and practical resource for all on the Jesus Way.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSteve Aisthorpe, author of The Invisible Church and mission development worker for the Church of Scotland\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis book is knowledgeable, quirky and inspirational. The seven sacred spaces are drawn from their monastic roots to provide a framework for discipleship, Christian community and wider human well-being. As someone who has long inhabited the seven sacred spaces in his own discipleship, George Lings enthuses about their potential, illustrating it from the experience of a variety of contemporary expressions of church.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSally Gaze, archdeacon for rural mission and leader of the Lightwave Community, Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGeorge Lings is a radical, one who believes that we should explore the deep roots of faith if we are to live well. Seven Sacred Spaces distils the wisdom of decades of looking, listening, reflecting. Read it if you want to be a deep-rooted Christian today. I recommend it very, very highly.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePaul Bayes, Bishop of Liverpool\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHere we are presented with the challenging proposal that the rhythm of monastic life with its seven sacred spaces – refectory, cell, scriptorium, chapel, garden, cloister and chapter – does not need to be confined to the monastery. Rather it can shape and enrich the lives of men and women of all ages and in all states of life.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSister Frances Dominica OBE, DL, founder of the first children’s hospice, Helen House\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis book drew me into a world of monastic spaces and monastic practices. Exploring these seven spaces, with current and historic examples, helped me to reflect on the value of these distinctive modes and ways of being church. I highly recommend Seven Sacred Spaces to those who are interested in finding out more about monasticism and those imagining how church can develop alongside and beyond the Sunday service. It has certainly helped me to imagine how these spaces and practices could enhance discipleship, community and mission within my own context of a suburban parish church.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRevd Dr Beth Keith, Associate Vicar, All Saints Ecclesall Sheffield\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGeorge Lings is as perceptive and prophetic as ever, as he explores what the ancient idea of the seven sacred spaces means for us today. Much of this exploration comes out of George’s own experience and is all the richer for this. Whether you are thinking about your own life or your church community, this book is worth reading. There is a wealth of practical experience in this book which can bring change and transformation for you and your church.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRevd Dave Male, director of evangelism and discipleship, Church of England\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn his typical thorough, imaginative and fair way, George Lings explores some essential disciplines from the ancient life and witness of the monastery, and he demonstrates how a grasp of these can radically affect how we live and witness for Christ in today’s culture. Anyone reading this will be inspired and challenged by reading George’s fascinating study of each of these sacred spaces.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCanon Michael Mitton, writer, speaker, spiritual director, and canon emeritus at Derby Cathedral\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOur church and other ecclesial physical spaces are a crucial resource that we are once again beginning to value in our increasingly post-secular, post-Christendom context. I unreservedly recommend this book that draws on the story and purposes of Christians committed to radical community and Christian discipleship to reimagine church and church buildings for the reality of mission and ministry for today.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIan Mobsby, assistant dean for fresh expressions in the Diocese of Southwark, guardian of the New Monastic Society of the Holy Trinity, and interim pioneer rector at Christ Church Southwark\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e"}
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{"id":4375524212875,"title":"Growing Leaders: Reflections on leadership, life and Jesus","handle":"growing-leaders-reflections-on-leadership-life-and-jesus-2020","description":"\u003cp\u003eHow do we keep growing as a leader? And how do we ensure others around us grow in their leadership?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese twin themes run throughout this book, exploring the joys and challenges of leading at a time when we need Christians to lead well wherever they are.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSuch leadership is always about more than just skills. It includes a clearer sense of call, growth in Christlike character, an ability to lead well with others and, at heart, a deepening relationship with God. This book offer practical ideas and insights into how to grow as this sort of leader.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe book contains twelve chapters, in six sections, plus a resources section:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePart 1: Engage with today's context\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePart 2: Know you're chosen\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePart 3: Discern God's call\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePart 4: Develop Christlike character\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePart 5: Cultivate core competencies\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePart 6: Lead in communities \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFirst published in 2004.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAuthor info\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJames Lawrence is CPAS’s Director for Arrow. He is an ordained Anglican minister and has been a core member of Springboard, the evangelism initiative. He is author of \u003cem\u003eGrowing Leaders\u003c\/em\u003e (BRF, 2004), \u003cem\u003eLost for Words\u003c\/em\u003e (BRF, 1999) and \u003cem\u003eMen: The challenge of change\u003c\/em\u003e (CPAS,1997).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eReviews of new edition\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTransforming Ministry (winter 2020). Review by Veronica Bright\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe subtitle of this new edition could be ‘How to understand your vicar’, but it is so much more than that. ‘Growing Leaders’ is for every Christian who leads in any way – whether you are a teacher, a parent or an ordained minister, whether you are a leader or helper in a playgroup, a youth group, or a chorister. We live in a changing world and are part of a changing church. Our primary responsibilities are to be followers of Jesus and to keep growing. This book is a detailed exposition of how we can all become better leaders. It is very readable, but not a book to hurry through. Lawrence gives advice from his own experience, and bravely exposes his own shortcomings in order to help us address ours. We are encouraged as flawed human beings to be the best we can be, knowing that we live with God’s perpetual forgiveness. Whatever kind of leader you are now, I urge you to take time to read this book.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReviewed by Veronica Bright\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Salvationist, April 2020. Review by Major Mal Davies (Editor-in-Chief)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1992 US pastor Leighton Ford founded a training and mentoring course for Christian leaders that became referred to as the Arrow Leadership Programme. It is a worldwide and well-respected course in which leaders of all denominations, including The Salvation Army, have participated.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e In the UK it is administered by CPAS (Church Pastoral Aid Society) and its leadership principal is Anglican minister and writer James Lawrence. This book – a key text in the Arrow course – was first released in 2004 and has now been fully revised and updated.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e The book focuses on two simple questions. How do we grow effective leaders for today’s Church? And how do we help Christian leaders safeguard and grow their faith? Early in the book, Lawrence reflects on the need for yet another book on Christian leadership and ‘how much our leadership thinking is genuinely from a reflection on the Scriptures and how much is simply a baptising of secular theories within the Church’. While he recognises we can learn much about leadership from the corporate world, he says there is much we can glean directly from Scripture and, even more directly, from observing the life of Jesus.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e What unfolds is a book with clear theological aims to explore the call to leadership, the character of a leader, the skills required for leadership and the attitude of a leader – all based on observations from the life of Christ. One core teaching, for example, is that ‘the first priority of every Christian leader is not to be a leader but to be a follower’, as the author expands on the notion of servant leadership.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e While some readers will see elements of the International Doctrine Council book \u003cem\u003eServants Together\u003c\/em\u003e and others will see hints of Major Peter McGuigan’s \u003cem\u003eThe Leadership Of Jesus\u003c\/em\u003e, this new edition of Growing Leaders offers a broader theological reflection on the leadership of Jesus, especially in relation to the call and character required to lead in Christian ministry. This is a thoughtful and well-written book, especially helpful for those who feel God may be calling them to lead.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReviewed by \u003cspan\u003eMajor Mal Davies (Editor-in-Chief)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eEndorsements of the first edition\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA comprehensive, practical and very readable analysis of the art of leadership.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003eJ John \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe most thoughtful, rigorous and engaging study of Christian leadership that I have read.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003eJill Garrett, former MD of Gallup UK and Director of Caret Consulting \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBiblically solid and organisationally aware, rich in resources and practical help.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003eLeighton Ford, founder of the Arrow Leadership Programme \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHe combines the latest research and literature with an understanding of church leadership and won't let either run away from scripture.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003eHugh Palmer, Christ Church, Fulwood\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e'Pure gold! A treasure trove of practical wisdom for leaders and those who aspire to be leaders. I wish this book had been written twenty years ago.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eIan Parkinson, Vicar in Marple, and Co-ordinator the New Wine Network in the North West.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eReviews of the first edition\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom \u003cem\u003eChurch of England Newspaper\u003c\/em\u003e 13 August 2004\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e This is a superb book on leadership. It is easily one of the best, if not the best, book on the subject I have ever read.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJames Lawrence is the Director of the Arrow Training Programme run by the Church Pastoral Aid Society (CPAS). He has also been a core member of Springboard. He has been meeting and interacting with and helping ministers of all denominations, but particularly Anglican ones, for many years. He has great insight and understands what it is like to run a busy parish or church agency.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe book has 12 chapters divided into six sections.\u003cbr\u003e In the first section, Lawrence looks at leadership today. 'One of the chief characteristics of healthy, growing churches is leadership,' he writes. 'It isn't the only mark of a healthy church, but a vital one. 'It is with that concern that he then develops the marks of growing leaders - they know they are chosen, they discern God's call, they develop Christ-like character, they cultivate competence (his largest section), and they lead in the community.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEach of these areas are explored in a humble, practical and scriptural manner. The result is a highly readable, very challenging, but extremely helpful book, especially for pressurised leaders. There is a whole chapter on 'Living in the Red Zone' which every minister, Bishop and Archdeacon in the Church of England ought to read! Why? Because 'within churches the character of the minister is often reflected in the life of the congregation' - and if the minister is in danger of not coping well, what of the church?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a book to own, not borrow. It needs to be read a chapter at a time with the opportunity to reflect on what Lawrence is saying, and to wrestle with his arguments, and search scripture afresh. This is not a book to scan and forget, but a book to enable you to cope with the future. He writes, 'Today I spoke on the phone with a 37 year-old minister. 'James, I don't know how I am going to survive. I am working 12 to 14-hour days. I don't see my family enough, and I feel constantly on the edge of burn-out. I don't feel trained for the job I do and I don't know where to get help. I'm wearing so many hats. The church is growing, exciting things are happening, but if I look down the road of the next 30 years I know I am not going to make it.' ' If you are in this ministers shoes, with the help of this book, you might!\u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003e Reviewed by Peter Brierley, Executive Director, Christian Research\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom \u003cem\u003eChristian Herald\u003c\/em\u003e, 05 June 2004\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e By coincidence I was reading this book on a train while travelling to a conference in which the main theme was training leaders. This is clearly an idea whose time has come. James Lawrence is to be commended for making this contribution to the process.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eGrowing Leaders\u003c\/em\u003e is comprehensive, accessible and realistic. The book covers a huge amount of ground. Its six sections deal with issues like defining leadership in the context of God's choice and call and considering how leaders can be developed to operate more effectively in their relationship to others.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI appreciated the mix of biblical reflection, personal anecdote and practical application. This mix helps to keep the book readable and relevant. Also welcome is the author's honesty concerning his own struggles and mistakes. The realism of these sections reminds the reader that failure need not be final, but can be an opportunity for growth and change.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003e Reviewed by John Woods\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2019-12-09T09:46:44+00:00","created_at":"2019-12-05T14:40:50+00:00","vendor":"James Lawrence","type":"Paperback","tags":["Leadership","Mar-20"],"price":1099,"price_min":1099,"price_max":1099,"available":true,"price_varies":false,"compare_at_price":null,"compare_at_price_min":0,"compare_at_price_max":0,"compare_at_price_varies":false,"variants":[{"id":31422348689547,"title":"Default Title","option1":"Default Title","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"9780857468888","requires_shipping":true,"taxable":false,"featured_image":null,"available":true,"name":"Growing Leaders: Reflections on leadership, life and Jesus","public_title":null,"options":["Default Title"],"price":1099,"weight":318,"compare_at_price":null,"inventory_management":"shopify","barcode":"9780857468888","requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_allocations":[]}],"images":["\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9781841012469.jpg?v=1583316155"],"featured_image":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9781841012469.jpg?v=1583316155","options":["Title"],"media":[{"alt":null,"id":6731441209483,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":0.656,"height":1524,"width":1000,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9781841012469.jpg?v=1583316155"},"aspect_ratio":0.656,"height":1524,"media_type":"image","src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9781841012469.jpg?v=1583316155","width":1000}],"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_groups":[],"content":"\u003cp\u003eHow do we keep growing as a leader? And how do we ensure others around us grow in their leadership?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese twin themes run throughout this book, exploring the joys and challenges of leading at a time when we need Christians to lead well wherever they are.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSuch leadership is always about more than just skills. It includes a clearer sense of call, growth in Christlike character, an ability to lead well with others and, at heart, a deepening relationship with God. This book offer practical ideas and insights into how to grow as this sort of leader.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe book contains twelve chapters, in six sections, plus a resources section:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePart 1: Engage with today's context\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePart 2: Know you're chosen\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePart 3: Discern God's call\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePart 4: Develop Christlike character\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePart 5: Cultivate core competencies\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePart 6: Lead in communities \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFirst published in 2004.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAuthor info\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJames Lawrence is CPAS’s Director for Arrow. He is an ordained Anglican minister and has been a core member of Springboard, the evangelism initiative. He is author of \u003cem\u003eGrowing Leaders\u003c\/em\u003e (BRF, 2004), \u003cem\u003eLost for Words\u003c\/em\u003e (BRF, 1999) and \u003cem\u003eMen: The challenge of change\u003c\/em\u003e (CPAS,1997).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eReviews of new edition\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTransforming Ministry (winter 2020). Review by Veronica Bright\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe subtitle of this new edition could be ‘How to understand your vicar’, but it is so much more than that. ‘Growing Leaders’ is for every Christian who leads in any way – whether you are a teacher, a parent or an ordained minister, whether you are a leader or helper in a playgroup, a youth group, or a chorister. We live in a changing world and are part of a changing church. Our primary responsibilities are to be followers of Jesus and to keep growing. This book is a detailed exposition of how we can all become better leaders. It is very readable, but not a book to hurry through. Lawrence gives advice from his own experience, and bravely exposes his own shortcomings in order to help us address ours. We are encouraged as flawed human beings to be the best we can be, knowing that we live with God’s perpetual forgiveness. Whatever kind of leader you are now, I urge you to take time to read this book.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReviewed by Veronica Bright\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Salvationist, April 2020. Review by Major Mal Davies (Editor-in-Chief)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1992 US pastor Leighton Ford founded a training and mentoring course for Christian leaders that became referred to as the Arrow Leadership Programme. It is a worldwide and well-respected course in which leaders of all denominations, including The Salvation Army, have participated.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e In the UK it is administered by CPAS (Church Pastoral Aid Society) and its leadership principal is Anglican minister and writer James Lawrence. This book – a key text in the Arrow course – was first released in 2004 and has now been fully revised and updated.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e The book focuses on two simple questions. How do we grow effective leaders for today’s Church? And how do we help Christian leaders safeguard and grow their faith? Early in the book, Lawrence reflects on the need for yet another book on Christian leadership and ‘how much our leadership thinking is genuinely from a reflection on the Scriptures and how much is simply a baptising of secular theories within the Church’. While he recognises we can learn much about leadership from the corporate world, he says there is much we can glean directly from Scripture and, even more directly, from observing the life of Jesus.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e What unfolds is a book with clear theological aims to explore the call to leadership, the character of a leader, the skills required for leadership and the attitude of a leader – all based on observations from the life of Christ. One core teaching, for example, is that ‘the first priority of every Christian leader is not to be a leader but to be a follower’, as the author expands on the notion of servant leadership.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e While some readers will see elements of the International Doctrine Council book \u003cem\u003eServants Together\u003c\/em\u003e and others will see hints of Major Peter McGuigan’s \u003cem\u003eThe Leadership Of Jesus\u003c\/em\u003e, this new edition of Growing Leaders offers a broader theological reflection on the leadership of Jesus, especially in relation to the call and character required to lead in Christian ministry. This is a thoughtful and well-written book, especially helpful for those who feel God may be calling them to lead.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReviewed by \u003cspan\u003eMajor Mal Davies (Editor-in-Chief)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eEndorsements of the first edition\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA comprehensive, practical and very readable analysis of the art of leadership.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003eJ John \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe most thoughtful, rigorous and engaging study of Christian leadership that I have read.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003eJill Garrett, former MD of Gallup UK and Director of Caret Consulting \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBiblically solid and organisationally aware, rich in resources and practical help.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003eLeighton Ford, founder of the Arrow Leadership Programme \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHe combines the latest research and literature with an understanding of church leadership and won't let either run away from scripture.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003eHugh Palmer, Christ Church, Fulwood\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e'Pure gold! A treasure trove of practical wisdom for leaders and those who aspire to be leaders. I wish this book had been written twenty years ago.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eIan Parkinson, Vicar in Marple, and Co-ordinator the New Wine Network in the North West.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eReviews of the first edition\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom \u003cem\u003eChurch of England Newspaper\u003c\/em\u003e 13 August 2004\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e This is a superb book on leadership. It is easily one of the best, if not the best, book on the subject I have ever read.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJames Lawrence is the Director of the Arrow Training Programme run by the Church Pastoral Aid Society (CPAS). He has also been a core member of Springboard. He has been meeting and interacting with and helping ministers of all denominations, but particularly Anglican ones, for many years. He has great insight and understands what it is like to run a busy parish or church agency.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe book has 12 chapters divided into six sections.\u003cbr\u003e In the first section, Lawrence looks at leadership today. 'One of the chief characteristics of healthy, growing churches is leadership,' he writes. 'It isn't the only mark of a healthy church, but a vital one. 'It is with that concern that he then develops the marks of growing leaders - they know they are chosen, they discern God's call, they develop Christ-like character, they cultivate competence (his largest section), and they lead in the community.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEach of these areas are explored in a humble, practical and scriptural manner. The result is a highly readable, very challenging, but extremely helpful book, especially for pressurised leaders. There is a whole chapter on 'Living in the Red Zone' which every minister, Bishop and Archdeacon in the Church of England ought to read! Why? Because 'within churches the character of the minister is often reflected in the life of the congregation' - and if the minister is in danger of not coping well, what of the church?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a book to own, not borrow. It needs to be read a chapter at a time with the opportunity to reflect on what Lawrence is saying, and to wrestle with his arguments, and search scripture afresh. This is not a book to scan and forget, but a book to enable you to cope with the future. He writes, 'Today I spoke on the phone with a 37 year-old minister. 'James, I don't know how I am going to survive. I am working 12 to 14-hour days. I don't see my family enough, and I feel constantly on the edge of burn-out. I don't feel trained for the job I do and I don't know where to get help. I'm wearing so many hats. The church is growing, exciting things are happening, but if I look down the road of the next 30 years I know I am not going to make it.' ' If you are in this ministers shoes, with the help of this book, you might!\u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003e Reviewed by Peter Brierley, Executive Director, Christian Research\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom \u003cem\u003eChristian Herald\u003c\/em\u003e, 05 June 2004\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e By coincidence I was reading this book on a train while travelling to a conference in which the main theme was training leaders. This is clearly an idea whose time has come. James Lawrence is to be commended for making this contribution to the process.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eGrowing Leaders\u003c\/em\u003e is comprehensive, accessible and realistic. The book covers a huge amount of ground. Its six sections deal with issues like defining leadership in the context of God's choice and call and considering how leaders can be developed to operate more effectively in their relationship to others.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI appreciated the mix of biblical reflection, personal anecdote and practical application. This mix helps to keep the book readable and relevant. Also welcome is the author's honesty concerning his own struggles and mistakes. The realism of these sections reminds the reader that failure need not be final, but can be an opportunity for growth and change.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003e Reviewed by John Woods\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e"}
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Growing Leaders: Reflections on leadership, life and Jesus
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How do we keep growing as a leader? And how do we ensure others around us grow in their leadership? These...
{"id":4163032449163,"title":"Parenting as a Church Leader: Helping your family thrive","handle":"parenting-as-a-church-leader-helping-your-family-thrive","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhen spiritual leadership is the day job, how does it affect family dynamics?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHow do we spiritually parent our children while also needing to lead the church? How do we balance the many hats we wear? How do we live in a goldfish bowl and yet enable our children to flourish? How do we parent for faith without giving in to the pressure to perform for our congregations?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDrawing on extensive research, this book explores the issues and builds a set of simple tools and approaches to help leaders and their families to flourish together.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAuthor Information\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRachel Turner is an author, speaker and the Parenting for Faith Pioneer for The Bible Reading Fellowship. She presents the Parenting for Faith course, a free video-based resource for church groups and individuals.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eEndorsements\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"%20http:\/\/cathymadavan.com\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCathy Madavan\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHow I wish this book had been out a decade ago when our children were younger. Packed with wisdom, common sense and a good dose of humour, this book encourages us that God is with us in the journey as parents as well as leaders. It’s great. Highly recommended would be an understatement. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eReviews \u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLucy Rycroft: \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/thehopefilledfamily.com\/best-christian-books-for-moms\/\"\u003eThe Hope Filled Family\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAs the wife of a pastor, I found this book spot-on. It is suitable for ALL those who work in church leadership – regardless of denomination or role – and their spouses. It’s empowering and encouraging, from an author who – after a lifetime in Christian work – understands the unique challenges faced by families who have an upfront ministry. The book contains practical tips, as well as advice for liaising graciously with your church children’s\/youth teams, and the whole thing remains optimistic about the benefits our children gain from this life, rather than focusing on the negatives of the ‘goldfish bowl’ experience.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCPAS Leadon monthly e-news, December 2021\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/cpas.us8.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=9c4386d25a49e13c1e4be3e09\u0026amp;id=93e7d2ec60\u0026amp;e=4f24864509\"\u003ewww.cpas.org.uk\/leadon\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview by Pam Macnaughton \u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis book should be required reading for all those in full-time church leadership. It is realistic, sensible and Godly. Until you have lived the life of church leadership as a family, it is hard to understand the pressures and challenges it presents to both the adults and their children in that family.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRachel Turner tackles the issues head on with compassion and understanding, and after full and careful research. She is also a natural story-teller, and so there are great stories throughout to illustrate her points.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat emerges from the book is an understanding that it is possible to do the two things well – to lead a church well and bring up family well. The two do not have to be mutually exclusive. However, it does take careful thought, generous hearts and willingness to learn and change. The pressures of church leadership are such that it's too easy to put the needs of those we lead first over and over again, until our families believe that they will always come second. It doesn't have to be like that, but we do sometimes need help, and great examples, to make wise decisions. And then to explain those decisions well to our families.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eParenting as a Church Leader\u003c\/em\u003e takes us on a journey of discovery as we consider our way through these potential minefields.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf, as would only be natural, we are keen to do our best so that our children grow up to be not just as rounded adults but also faithful followers of Christ in their own right, we need to examine ourselves, our actions and our words carefully, again and again. This book can help us do that. It's not one to just read and shelve, but to read, discuss and return to through the precious child-rearing years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eReviewed by Pam Macnaughton\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2019-09-25T12:13:28+01:00","created_at":"2019-09-25T12:13:28+01:00","vendor":"Rachel Turner","type":"Paperback","tags":["Children and family ministry","Leadership","Mar-20","Parenting","Parenting for Faith books"],"price":999,"price_min":999,"price_max":999,"available":true,"price_varies":false,"compare_at_price":null,"compare_at_price_min":0,"compare_at_price_max":0,"compare_at_price_varies":false,"variants":[{"id":30263387488395,"title":"Default Title","option1":"Default Title","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"9780857469373","requires_shipping":true,"taxable":false,"featured_image":null,"available":true,"name":"Parenting as a Church Leader: Helping your family thrive","public_title":null,"options":["Default Title"],"price":999,"weight":300,"compare_at_price":null,"inventory_management":"shopify","barcode":"9780857469373","requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_allocations":[]}],"images":["\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857469373.jpg?v=1569410072"],"featured_image":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857469373.jpg?v=1569410072","options":["Title"],"media":[{"alt":null,"id":2274527281291,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":0.656,"height":1524,"width":1000,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857469373.jpg?v=1569410072"},"aspect_ratio":0.656,"height":1524,"media_type":"image","src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857469373.jpg?v=1569410072","width":1000}],"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_groups":[],"content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhen spiritual leadership is the day job, how does it affect family dynamics?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHow do we spiritually parent our children while also needing to lead the church? How do we balance the many hats we wear? How do we live in a goldfish bowl and yet enable our children to flourish? How do we parent for faith without giving in to the pressure to perform for our congregations?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDrawing on extensive research, this book explores the issues and builds a set of simple tools and approaches to help leaders and their families to flourish together.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAuthor Information\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRachel Turner is an author, speaker and the Parenting for Faith Pioneer for The Bible Reading Fellowship. She presents the Parenting for Faith course, a free video-based resource for church groups and individuals.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eEndorsements\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"%20http:\/\/cathymadavan.com\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCathy Madavan\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHow I wish this book had been out a decade ago when our children were younger. Packed with wisdom, common sense and a good dose of humour, this book encourages us that God is with us in the journey as parents as well as leaders. It’s great. Highly recommended would be an understatement. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eReviews \u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLucy Rycroft: \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/thehopefilledfamily.com\/best-christian-books-for-moms\/\"\u003eThe Hope Filled Family\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAs the wife of a pastor, I found this book spot-on. It is suitable for ALL those who work in church leadership – regardless of denomination or role – and their spouses. It’s empowering and encouraging, from an author who – after a lifetime in Christian work – understands the unique challenges faced by families who have an upfront ministry. The book contains practical tips, as well as advice for liaising graciously with your church children’s\/youth teams, and the whole thing remains optimistic about the benefits our children gain from this life, rather than focusing on the negatives of the ‘goldfish bowl’ experience.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCPAS Leadon monthly e-news, December 2021\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/cpas.us8.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=9c4386d25a49e13c1e4be3e09\u0026amp;id=93e7d2ec60\u0026amp;e=4f24864509\"\u003ewww.cpas.org.uk\/leadon\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview by Pam Macnaughton \u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis book should be required reading for all those in full-time church leadership. It is realistic, sensible and Godly. Until you have lived the life of church leadership as a family, it is hard to understand the pressures and challenges it presents to both the adults and their children in that family.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRachel Turner tackles the issues head on with compassion and understanding, and after full and careful research. She is also a natural story-teller, and so there are great stories throughout to illustrate her points.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat emerges from the book is an understanding that it is possible to do the two things well – to lead a church well and bring up family well. The two do not have to be mutually exclusive. However, it does take careful thought, generous hearts and willingness to learn and change. The pressures of church leadership are such that it's too easy to put the needs of those we lead first over and over again, until our families believe that they will always come second. It doesn't have to be like that, but we do sometimes need help, and great examples, to make wise decisions. And then to explain those decisions well to our families.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eParenting as a Church Leader\u003c\/em\u003e takes us on a journey of discovery as we consider our way through these potential minefields.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf, as would only be natural, we are keen to do our best so that our children grow up to be not just as rounded adults but also faithful followers of Christ in their own right, we need to examine ourselves, our actions and our words carefully, again and again. This book can help us do that. It's not one to just read and shelve, but to read, discuss and return to through the precious child-rearing years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eReviewed by Pam Macnaughton\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e"}
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When spiritual leadership is the day job, how does it affect family dynamics?How do we spiritually parent our children while...
{"id":3280107274340,"title":"Servant Ministry: A portrait of Christ and a pattern for his followers","handle":"servant-ministry-a-portrait-of-christ-and-a-pattern-for-his-followers","description":"\u003cp\u003eServanthood is something to which all believers are called, not just those in full-time ministry, and so understanding what servanthood means is vital for the health and well-being of local churches. Every member needs to appreciate their role as a servant of God. At the same time, the principles of servant leadership provide an essential framework for those called specifically to the work of the Church, whether at home or overseas.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eServant Ministry offers a practical exposition of the first 'Servant Song' based in Isaiah (42:1-9). Writing from many years of Christian teaching and mentoring, Tony Horsfall applies insights drawn from the Isaiah passage to topics such as the motivation for service and the call to serve; valid expressions of servanthood and the link between evangelism and social action; character formation and what it means to be a servant; how to keep going over the long haul in the harsh realities of ministry; the importance of listening to God on a daily basis and also over a whole lifetime.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMany people around the world have been inspired and refreshed by Tony Horsfall's teaching and mentoring. As well as working as an international freelance trainer and retreat leader, he has written a number of other books for BRF, including Rhythms of Grace, Mentoring for Spiritual Growth and Working from a Place of Rest. He also contributes to New Daylight Bible reading notes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eContents\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Servant's identity\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e1 Behold my servant\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e2 Emptied and humbled\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e3 Chosen and loved\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e4 Servants one and all\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Servant's calling\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e5 The Spirit upon him\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e6 Justice, the suffering servant and the law of God\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e7 Justice, the compassionate servant and the needs of the world\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Servant's character\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e8 The servant as leader\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e9 Humility, and the danger of pride\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e10 Gentleness, and the temptations of power\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e11 Faithfulness, and the challenge of pain\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Servant's confidence\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e12 The God who speaks\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e13 God's presence to reassure\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e14 God's protection to guard\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e15 God's purpose to guide\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Servant's attentiveness\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e16 Listening and responding\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom the introduction\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eServant Ministry is based on the first Servant Song in Isaiah (42:1-9) and could be described as a practical exposition of this passage. My intention is to explain the meaning of the text and then to apply its teaching to the biblical theme of servanthood. It will lead us quite naturally to explore some significant topics: the motivation for service and the call to serve; valid expressions of servanthood and the link between evangelism and social action; character formation and what it means to be a servant, especially in leadership; how to sustain ourselves over the long haul in the harsh realities of ministry; the importance of listening to God and being directed by him in what we do, both on a daily basis and over the course of a lifetime.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy basic assumption throughout is that servanthood is for all believers, not just for those in some form of 'full-time' ministry, and I hope this comes across clearly because it is vital for the health and vitality of local churches that every member appreciates and understands his or her role as a servant of God. At the same time, my focus will be on those in Christian leadership and crosscultural ministry for whom the call to serve has led to significant life changes that impact them on a daily basis. Inevitably we will cover the topic of servant leadership, and I hope we might grasp the principles behind it in a fresh way while avoiding some of the common misconceptions and distortions. It is my strong conviction that servant leadership is vital for the well-being and effectiveness of any church or Christian organisation in the 21st century. For me, Christian leadership is synonymous with servant leadership.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe will approach the Servant Song through two lenses, seeing it first of all as a portrait of Christ and secondly as a pattern for his followers. Jesus shows us through his life on earth what it means to be a servant, and he perfectly fulfils the picture painted for us in Isaiah. He is an example to us of true servanthood, and we are called with God's help to imitate him: 'Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did (1 John 2:6). Servanthood can never be an optional extra in the Christian life; it is its foundation stone, and all disciples of Jesus must see themselves as servants. Peter says it clearly: 'Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover up for evil; live as servants of God' (1 Peter 2:16).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eForeword by Rob Hay, Principal, Redcliffe College\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn September 2010 Tony Horsfall came and led a staff retreat at Redcliffe College, ahead of the start of the academic year . The retreat was called 'Time to Stop' but it took place about five days before the students started arriving - we didn't really have time to stop! But his focus on our identity and purpose, and his unpacking of the resources available to us, allowed us both individually and corporately to remember during that particularly challenging year, to stop, reflect and reengage afresh in God's service.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a book on servanthood that presents a truly biblical view of servanthood - not like being some kind of nice, benign auntie for whom nothing is too much trouble, but rather as a call to live as God intends us to live. I teach a postgraduate class on leadership and I sometimes tell the students that I get fed up with talk of servant leadership, partly because I see many other metaphors for leadership in scripture but also because I think Christians have misunderstood servant leadership and servanthood generally! Tony, however, has not..\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGod intends us to live and serve secure. Tony starts with identity and calling. This is vital: we need to know who we are: both the reality of frailty and our status as children of the living God loved by a Father who delights in his children. He goes onto justice and compassion - two concepts that often get separated by Christian writers because they find them hard to hold in tension. Tony, however, does not...\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGod intends us to live confidently. Servants serve a master (in our case the Lord), not every person we bump into. Knowing how God wants us to serve him in each and every situation we find ourselves - whether it demands compassion or righteous anger, clear leadership or wise counsel - is vital to effective Christian living. To be able to do it in confidence because we know who we are and who we are called to be, allows us to serve effectively.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTony has served the church so well in the writing of this book. It has the potential to make the church a better bride of Christ and each individual Christian a closer reflection of Jesus this side of heaven.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRob Hay\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePrincipal, Redcliffe College\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAuthor info\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTony Horsfall is a freelance trainer and retreat leader, whose work regularly takes him around the world. He has written a number of books for BRF, including Mentoring for Spiritual Growth, Working from a Place of Rest and Rhythms of Grace. He also contributes to New Daylight Bible reading notes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eReviews\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview of second edition by Hannah Prosser, January 2020\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTony Horsfall’s book on Servant Ministry is at once an inspirational, devotional book and simultaneously a deeply challenging one. On the one hand it is very readable, accessible and easy to digest but, as soon as you apply the principles and determine action points for life, then the depth of content becomes highly apparent.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlthough it springboards from Isaiah 42, it dances throughout all of the Scriptures to provide a comprehensive overview of servanthood in the Bible. It shows that our concept of servanthood is culturally conditioned and colours our view of the above passages. We are challenged to shift from our western hierarchical perspective to one honouring the value and purpose of the one who serves.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn addition to challenging our personal beliefs and behaviours, it also brings a fresh view of Christ, encouraging a deeper relationship with Him who served gladly and without reluctance. As we model ourselves on the Jesus shown beautifully in the Servant Song, I was personally confronted with the need to lay aside more of me. Whilst challenging, it is also encouraging, reminding us of the unconditional love of God. Though relevant to all Christians, it particularly provides a challenging fresh perspective on Christian leadership, which is greatly needed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eHannah Prosser: Co-Director - HASMissions, Member Care Team Leader - AOG Missions Team\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview of second edition by Richard Frost, July 2019\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFirst published in 2013, \u003cem\u003eServant Ministry \u003c\/em\u003eis Tony Horsfall’s exploration of the meaning of servanthood in the first servant song from Isaiah.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMaking good use of a wide range of other Biblical references, the author demonstrates that Christ is the fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophecy. \u003cem\u003eServant Ministry\u003c\/em\u003e helps the reader to reflect on the words of Isaiah 42:1-9 and also to sit with and understand the true servant nature of Christ.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs another reviewer has observed, this is not a book to read in one sitting. Indeed, the short chapters make it digestible and aid the devotional approach which Tony Horsfall suggests. By using non-academic language, he presents a thorough analysis of what the Bible has to say about servanthood and how Christ is the Servant, the chosen one.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eExploring the origins of servanthood (including the Old Testament understanding of slavery) and the concept that one is a servant not only to superiors but to other people, the book also considers how, as servants, we are to prepare others for servanthood. Tony Horsfall also makes the link between servanthood and justice, suffering, compassion and gentleness. ‘Here is the heart of servanthood,’ he writes, ‘the selfless giving of oneself to meet the needs of others.’\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe chapter on ‘The servant as leader’ is especially powerful and provocative; equally perceptive and helpful is the chapter on’ Humility, and the danger of pride’. The author also addresses the abusive nature of power and how this is often caused by insecure leaders who get carried away by their own success but are seldom challenged. The actuality of pain and suffering for those who are servant leaders is also sensitively acknowledged. ‘The best leaders are servants at heart, and service, rather than position or power, is their starting point.’\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe final sections explore how God speaks in different ways, how he provides a reassuring, protective hand and how he guides us: helpful reminders for those times when lose sight of who we are in God.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘Confidence in ministry is not self-confidence; it is confidence in our relationship with God and in his ability to sustain us.’\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlthough focusing on those whose ministry is in a church or Christian setting there is much which could be taken from this book and applied in secular environments.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eRichard Frost is the author of \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/products\/life-with-st-benedict-the-rule-re-imagined-for-everyday-living\"\u003eLife with St Benedict\u003c\/a\u003e and writes a blog at \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/workrestpray.com\/\"\u003eworkrestpray.com\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e ____________________________________________________________\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSTAR News. Diocese of Peterborough April 2016\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat does it mean to be a servant of the Lord Jesus? How is our character formed by serving Him? How do we keep going when ministry seems so daunting at times? Why is it important to listen to God each day? This book, which draws on Isaiah 42:1-9, is full of encouragement, enlightenment and practical insights to serve with confidence. This is a deep, reflective read that has helped me to be true to my calling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eRona Orme. Children's Missioner Diocese of Peterborough\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI believe the unhappiest people on the planet are Christians who don't serve. For in our regeneration, we are wired to serve. For Jesus is the one who said, 'I am among you as one who serves.' Intimacy with Jesus and activity for him make for the best combination of Christian usefulness.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStatistics would tell us that servant is mention in scripture over 600 times, whilst leader is only mentioned 3 times. This desperate imbalance is at the heart of our ability to make a prevailing Christian impact in our nation and beyond. Tony Horsfall's newest book speaks powerfully to this. He offers warm, faithful and close work in Isaiah 42, at the heart of this useful title. The pithy reflections following each chapter add significant value.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis new BRF offering is steadfast, engaging and challenging. The section on motivations is particularly helpful. When speaking of the servant's attentiveness, in the last chapter, around 'listening and responding' I would have loved more here, as this was especially strong. The phrase from 1 Peter 2 will live on long, through Horsfall's faithful efforts here: 'live as servants of God!'\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReviewed by Rev'd Dr Johnny Douglas\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTaking the first Servant Song in Isaiah 42 as his springboard the author leads his readers gently and carefully into a fuller picture of Christ and sets out steps on how to imitate the Suffering Servant as well as showing the pitfalls of ministry for those who feel secure in their service.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot best read at one sitting, the different sections - the Servant's Identity, Calling, Character and Confidence - are helpful reflections not simply for those beginning ministry but also for those who have grown old in unhelpful kinds of church leadership.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI found the section on Character particularly challenging as it described the great temptation to prides which comes with success. The very short yet poignant questions for reflection at the end of each chapter and in the study notes add greatly to the book and readers would do well to work through them in the pages of a personal journal.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA useful one page Appendix on the characteristics of abusive systems in churches and Christian organisations deserves wide circulation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReviewed by Andrew Dotchin\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2020-10-19T17:29:01+01:00","created_at":"2019-04-09T12:02:28+01:00","vendor":"Tony Horsfall","type":"Paperback","tags":["Jun-19","Leadership","Pastoral care"],"price":899,"price_min":899,"price_max":899,"available":true,"price_varies":false,"compare_at_price":null,"compare_at_price_min":0,"compare_at_price_max":0,"compare_at_price_varies":false,"variants":[{"id":26454556409956,"title":"Paperback","option1":"Paperback","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"9780857468864","requires_shipping":true,"taxable":false,"featured_image":null,"available":true,"name":"Servant Ministry: A portrait of Christ and a pattern for his followers - Paperback","public_title":"Paperback","options":["Paperback"],"price":899,"weight":188,"compare_at_price":null,"inventory_management":"shopify","barcode":"9780857468864","requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_allocations":[]}],"images":["\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857468864-l.jpg?v=1554807788"],"featured_image":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857468864-l.jpg?v=1554807788","options":["Format"],"media":[{"alt":null,"id":3264958300299,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":0.657,"height":650,"width":427,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857468864-l.jpg?v=1554807788"},"aspect_ratio":0.657,"height":650,"media_type":"image","src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857468864-l.jpg?v=1554807788","width":427}],"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_groups":[],"content":"\u003cp\u003eServanthood is something to which all believers are called, not just those in full-time ministry, and so understanding what servanthood means is vital for the health and well-being of local churches. Every member needs to appreciate their role as a servant of God. At the same time, the principles of servant leadership provide an essential framework for those called specifically to the work of the Church, whether at home or overseas.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eServant Ministry offers a practical exposition of the first 'Servant Song' based in Isaiah (42:1-9). Writing from many years of Christian teaching and mentoring, Tony Horsfall applies insights drawn from the Isaiah passage to topics such as the motivation for service and the call to serve; valid expressions of servanthood and the link between evangelism and social action; character formation and what it means to be a servant; how to keep going over the long haul in the harsh realities of ministry; the importance of listening to God on a daily basis and also over a whole lifetime.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMany people around the world have been inspired and refreshed by Tony Horsfall's teaching and mentoring. As well as working as an international freelance trainer and retreat leader, he has written a number of other books for BRF, including Rhythms of Grace, Mentoring for Spiritual Growth and Working from a Place of Rest. He also contributes to New Daylight Bible reading notes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eContents\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Servant's identity\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e1 Behold my servant\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e2 Emptied and humbled\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e3 Chosen and loved\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e4 Servants one and all\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Servant's calling\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e5 The Spirit upon him\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e6 Justice, the suffering servant and the law of God\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e7 Justice, the compassionate servant and the needs of the world\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Servant's character\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e8 The servant as leader\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e9 Humility, and the danger of pride\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e10 Gentleness, and the temptations of power\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e11 Faithfulness, and the challenge of pain\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Servant's confidence\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e12 The God who speaks\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e13 God's presence to reassure\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e14 God's protection to guard\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e15 God's purpose to guide\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Servant's attentiveness\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e16 Listening and responding\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom the introduction\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eServant Ministry is based on the first Servant Song in Isaiah (42:1-9) and could be described as a practical exposition of this passage. My intention is to explain the meaning of the text and then to apply its teaching to the biblical theme of servanthood. It will lead us quite naturally to explore some significant topics: the motivation for service and the call to serve; valid expressions of servanthood and the link between evangelism and social action; character formation and what it means to be a servant, especially in leadership; how to sustain ourselves over the long haul in the harsh realities of ministry; the importance of listening to God and being directed by him in what we do, both on a daily basis and over the course of a lifetime.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy basic assumption throughout is that servanthood is for all believers, not just for those in some form of 'full-time' ministry, and I hope this comes across clearly because it is vital for the health and vitality of local churches that every member appreciates and understands his or her role as a servant of God. At the same time, my focus will be on those in Christian leadership and crosscultural ministry for whom the call to serve has led to significant life changes that impact them on a daily basis. Inevitably we will cover the topic of servant leadership, and I hope we might grasp the principles behind it in a fresh way while avoiding some of the common misconceptions and distortions. It is my strong conviction that servant leadership is vital for the well-being and effectiveness of any church or Christian organisation in the 21st century. For me, Christian leadership is synonymous with servant leadership.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe will approach the Servant Song through two lenses, seeing it first of all as a portrait of Christ and secondly as a pattern for his followers. Jesus shows us through his life on earth what it means to be a servant, and he perfectly fulfils the picture painted for us in Isaiah. He is an example to us of true servanthood, and we are called with God's help to imitate him: 'Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did (1 John 2:6). Servanthood can never be an optional extra in the Christian life; it is its foundation stone, and all disciples of Jesus must see themselves as servants. Peter says it clearly: 'Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover up for evil; live as servants of God' (1 Peter 2:16).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eForeword by Rob Hay, Principal, Redcliffe College\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn September 2010 Tony Horsfall came and led a staff retreat at Redcliffe College, ahead of the start of the academic year . The retreat was called 'Time to Stop' but it took place about five days before the students started arriving - we didn't really have time to stop! But his focus on our identity and purpose, and his unpacking of the resources available to us, allowed us both individually and corporately to remember during that particularly challenging year, to stop, reflect and reengage afresh in God's service.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a book on servanthood that presents a truly biblical view of servanthood - not like being some kind of nice, benign auntie for whom nothing is too much trouble, but rather as a call to live as God intends us to live. I teach a postgraduate class on leadership and I sometimes tell the students that I get fed up with talk of servant leadership, partly because I see many other metaphors for leadership in scripture but also because I think Christians have misunderstood servant leadership and servanthood generally! Tony, however, has not..\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGod intends us to live and serve secure. Tony starts with identity and calling. This is vital: we need to know who we are: both the reality of frailty and our status as children of the living God loved by a Father who delights in his children. He goes onto justice and compassion - two concepts that often get separated by Christian writers because they find them hard to hold in tension. Tony, however, does not...\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGod intends us to live confidently. Servants serve a master (in our case the Lord), not every person we bump into. Knowing how God wants us to serve him in each and every situation we find ourselves - whether it demands compassion or righteous anger, clear leadership or wise counsel - is vital to effective Christian living. To be able to do it in confidence because we know who we are and who we are called to be, allows us to serve effectively.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTony has served the church so well in the writing of this book. It has the potential to make the church a better bride of Christ and each individual Christian a closer reflection of Jesus this side of heaven.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRob Hay\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePrincipal, Redcliffe College\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAuthor info\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTony Horsfall is a freelance trainer and retreat leader, whose work regularly takes him around the world. He has written a number of books for BRF, including Mentoring for Spiritual Growth, Working from a Place of Rest and Rhythms of Grace. He also contributes to New Daylight Bible reading notes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eReviews\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview of second edition by Hannah Prosser, January 2020\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTony Horsfall’s book on Servant Ministry is at once an inspirational, devotional book and simultaneously a deeply challenging one. On the one hand it is very readable, accessible and easy to digest but, as soon as you apply the principles and determine action points for life, then the depth of content becomes highly apparent.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlthough it springboards from Isaiah 42, it dances throughout all of the Scriptures to provide a comprehensive overview of servanthood in the Bible. It shows that our concept of servanthood is culturally conditioned and colours our view of the above passages. We are challenged to shift from our western hierarchical perspective to one honouring the value and purpose of the one who serves.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn addition to challenging our personal beliefs and behaviours, it also brings a fresh view of Christ, encouraging a deeper relationship with Him who served gladly and without reluctance. As we model ourselves on the Jesus shown beautifully in the Servant Song, I was personally confronted with the need to lay aside more of me. Whilst challenging, it is also encouraging, reminding us of the unconditional love of God. Though relevant to all Christians, it particularly provides a challenging fresh perspective on Christian leadership, which is greatly needed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eHannah Prosser: Co-Director - HASMissions, Member Care Team Leader - AOG Missions Team\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview of second edition by Richard Frost, July 2019\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFirst published in 2013, \u003cem\u003eServant Ministry \u003c\/em\u003eis Tony Horsfall’s exploration of the meaning of servanthood in the first servant song from Isaiah.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMaking good use of a wide range of other Biblical references, the author demonstrates that Christ is the fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophecy. \u003cem\u003eServant Ministry\u003c\/em\u003e helps the reader to reflect on the words of Isaiah 42:1-9 and also to sit with and understand the true servant nature of Christ.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs another reviewer has observed, this is not a book to read in one sitting. Indeed, the short chapters make it digestible and aid the devotional approach which Tony Horsfall suggests. By using non-academic language, he presents a thorough analysis of what the Bible has to say about servanthood and how Christ is the Servant, the chosen one.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eExploring the origins of servanthood (including the Old Testament understanding of slavery) and the concept that one is a servant not only to superiors but to other people, the book also considers how, as servants, we are to prepare others for servanthood. Tony Horsfall also makes the link between servanthood and justice, suffering, compassion and gentleness. ‘Here is the heart of servanthood,’ he writes, ‘the selfless giving of oneself to meet the needs of others.’\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe chapter on ‘The servant as leader’ is especially powerful and provocative; equally perceptive and helpful is the chapter on’ Humility, and the danger of pride’. The author also addresses the abusive nature of power and how this is often caused by insecure leaders who get carried away by their own success but are seldom challenged. The actuality of pain and suffering for those who are servant leaders is also sensitively acknowledged. ‘The best leaders are servants at heart, and service, rather than position or power, is their starting point.’\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe final sections explore how God speaks in different ways, how he provides a reassuring, protective hand and how he guides us: helpful reminders for those times when lose sight of who we are in God.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘Confidence in ministry is not self-confidence; it is confidence in our relationship with God and in his ability to sustain us.’\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlthough focusing on those whose ministry is in a church or Christian setting there is much which could be taken from this book and applied in secular environments.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eRichard Frost is the author of \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/products\/life-with-st-benedict-the-rule-re-imagined-for-everyday-living\"\u003eLife with St Benedict\u003c\/a\u003e and writes a blog at \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/workrestpray.com\/\"\u003eworkrestpray.com\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e ____________________________________________________________\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSTAR News. Diocese of Peterborough April 2016\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat does it mean to be a servant of the Lord Jesus? How is our character formed by serving Him? How do we keep going when ministry seems so daunting at times? Why is it important to listen to God each day? This book, which draws on Isaiah 42:1-9, is full of encouragement, enlightenment and practical insights to serve with confidence. This is a deep, reflective read that has helped me to be true to my calling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eRona Orme. Children's Missioner Diocese of Peterborough\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI believe the unhappiest people on the planet are Christians who don't serve. For in our regeneration, we are wired to serve. For Jesus is the one who said, 'I am among you as one who serves.' Intimacy with Jesus and activity for him make for the best combination of Christian usefulness.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStatistics would tell us that servant is mention in scripture over 600 times, whilst leader is only mentioned 3 times. This desperate imbalance is at the heart of our ability to make a prevailing Christian impact in our nation and beyond. Tony Horsfall's newest book speaks powerfully to this. He offers warm, faithful and close work in Isaiah 42, at the heart of this useful title. The pithy reflections following each chapter add significant value.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis new BRF offering is steadfast, engaging and challenging. The section on motivations is particularly helpful. When speaking of the servant's attentiveness, in the last chapter, around 'listening and responding' I would have loved more here, as this was especially strong. The phrase from 1 Peter 2 will live on long, through Horsfall's faithful efforts here: 'live as servants of God!'\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReviewed by Rev'd Dr Johnny Douglas\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTaking the first Servant Song in Isaiah 42 as his springboard the author leads his readers gently and carefully into a fuller picture of Christ and sets out steps on how to imitate the Suffering Servant as well as showing the pitfalls of ministry for those who feel secure in their service.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot best read at one sitting, the different sections - the Servant's Identity, Calling, Character and Confidence - are helpful reflections not simply for those beginning ministry but also for those who have grown old in unhelpful kinds of church leadership.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI found the section on Character particularly challenging as it described the great temptation to prides which comes with success. The very short yet poignant questions for reflection at the end of each chapter and in the study notes add greatly to the book and readers would do well to work through them in the pages of a personal journal.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA useful one page Appendix on the characteristics of abusive systems in churches and Christian organisations deserves wide circulation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReviewed by Andrew Dotchin\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e"}
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Servanthood is something to which all believers are called, not just those in full-time ministry, and so understanding what servanthood...
{"id":2439828045924,"title":"Resilience in Life and Faith: Finding your strength in God","handle":"resilience-in-life-and-faith-finding-your-strength-in-god","description":"\u003cp\u003eTony Horsfall and Debbie Hawker encourage us to develop our resilience and to prepare ourselves for the challenges that life throws at us in an increasingly difficult world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThrough biblical wisdom and psychological insight, they show us how to understand ourselves better, appreciate our areas of strength and strengthen our areas of weakness.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRead this book if you want a faith that persists to the finishing line.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAuthor info\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTony Horsfall is a freelance trainer and associate trainer with EQUIP, a missions programme based near Doncaster. He is an elder of his local church in West Yorkshire and regularly travels abroad leading retreats and Quiet Days. His other books include Spiritual Growth in a Time of Change (BRF, 2016). He also contributes to BRF's New Daylight Bible reading notes. Dr Debbie Hawker is a psychologist based in Nottingham with a global reputation as a specialist in debriefing and trauma counselling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eReviews\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview by Dr. Laura Mae Gardner,\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e f\u003c\/span\u003eormer International Vice President for Personnel for Wycliffe Bible Translators and SIL International. Author of \u003cem\u003eHealthy, Resilient and Effective in Cross-Cultural Ministry. \u003c\/em\u003eMay 2020\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI just finished reading this wonderful book and am strongly impacted by it. It gives sound practical concepts by two very qualified and experienced mission workers who have worldwide awareness. I know these authors and highly respect them. They have given us an immensely useful tool.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe book includes spiritual, physical, emotional, cognitive, social and systemic aspects of resilience. Resilience is illustrated by the lives of Biblical characters—Nehemiah, Elijah, David, Joseph, Paul, Jesus and women as well as men.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe strengths of the book are its Biblical anchoring and its practicality. It is comprehensive and clear. It will be a great resource for pastors, church and organisational leaders as well as individuals in the work force. The book will be a guide for all who have personnel and administrative oversight of workers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Resilience Scale at the end of the book is an excellent self evaluation instrument. It is followed by a faith-based creed, a simple but powerful personal commitment. This book will have a ministry-wide impact.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReviewed by Dr. Laura Mae Gardner, Former International Vice President for Personnel for Wycliffe Bible Translators and SIL International. Author of 'Healthy, Resilient and Effective in Cross-Cultural Ministry'.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Reader, Autumn 2019. Review by Roger Thornington\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe assertion on the back of this book - ‘Read this if you want a faith that persists to the finishing line – develop resilience and prepare for the challenges life throws at us’ sums up the authors’ intention. Does it do what it says on the cover? Debbie Hawker, a clinical psychologist, introduces the subject and contributes chapters on the psychological aspects of resilience using a model of resilience under the following domains: spiritual, physical, emotional, cognitive and creative, and finally social and systemic. Tony Horsfall, a trainer and retreat leader, provides studies of biblical characters illustrating each aspect considered. Each of the 15 short chapters concludes with some questions. Finally there are two appendices – a self-assessment ‘Resilience Rating Scale’ using their model, and then a ‘Resilience Creed’, using scriptural truths to strengthen faith during times of hardship. For those of an investigative nature, 145 annotated references are cited. It is a readable book; I found several nuggets amidst the many referenced opinions and conclusions. In summary, the book should interest Readers keen to investigate and develop the psychological aspects of their faith.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReviewed by Roger Thornington\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChurch of England Newspaper, July 2019. Review by Carol Turner\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn today’s world where so much is ‘instant’ and it is easy to give up and move onto the next thing, resilience seems to be in short supply.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs Christians, Tony Horsfall says, we should fix our eyes on Jesus and keep going. Resilience is what this short paperback is all about and I was amazed at how much is contained in it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe two authors have collaborated well and the chapters really flow together to form one whole. The combination of the authors’ experience in pastoral work, psychology and mission serve to give the book’s content a real depth.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe book focuses on the spiritual, physical, emotional, cognitive \u0026amp; creative and social \u0026amp; systemic aspects of resilience. Of them all as is stated (p167) spiritual resilience is the key and all aspects return to that; the spiritual is not able to be divorced from the rest of our lives.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe format of the book is excellent; the components of resilience are outlined and then applied to the lives of Biblical characters, and for us as Christians today. Practical suggestions are given as to how we can apply the teaching in today’s world. Of further benefit are the questions at the end of each chapter: these are challenging but do not result in readers being ‘put down, there are no wrong answers!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe book is well written and easy to read and understand, and will benefit the lay reader and those with more theological knowledge. I fully intend to re read this book, there is so much to recommend and it gives much food for thought.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReviewed by Carol Turner, midwife with 20 years' experience in Morocco, Sudan, Afghanistan \u0026amp; Burkina Faso. Member of church leadership team in UK.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview by Tim Herbert, Director, SYZYGY Missions Support Network\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTony Horsfall and Debbie Hawker have combined their unique talents to produce this new resource. As one would expect from two authors with excellent track records, it does not disappoint.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDefining resilience not as merely 'bouncing back' (as I so often have done!) but helpfully quoting a variety of authors to demonstrate that the status quo in our lives may not be restored after a trauma, though what we learned in the process changes us for the better, they have come up with their own model for understanding the different facets of life which impact upon our ability. They call it 'SPECS' and I will not explain that here so that I don't have a negative impact on their book sales! Suffice to say it considers all aspects of our human being to ensure we have a complete awareness of how to balance our lives well.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe chapters explore each of these facets in turn, first the psychology (Debbie) and then a character study from the Bible (Tony). This useful pairing means that the theory, presented simply enough for the amateur to understand but deeply enough to be helpful and authoritative, is balanced with lived-out practice, which is thoughtfully and interestingly brought to us. Each chapter closes with helpful questions for reflection, which gives the book the feel more of a devotional rather than a textbook, usefully bringing together two genres. At the end is a quick but effective self-assessment to highlight the reader's current life practice and how it affects each facet of their resilience.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReading this book I felt better informed about resilience, and inspired to maintain it. I commend this resource to practitioners of pastoral care for whom it is an invaluable addition to the bookshelf, and to all Christians who will find information to help them thrive in their daily lives'.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReview by Tim Herbert, Director, SYZYGY Missions Support Network\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview by Phil Jolley of ECMI\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a practical and helpful book dealing with different aspects to help develop resilience alongside snapshots of characters from the Bible that illustrates those aspects at work. The material that is presented covers building resilience in the areas of the spiritual, physical, emotional, cognitive and creative, social and systemic (SPECS) parts of our lives and then illustrates those through the biblical record of characters like Nehemiah, Elijah, David, Joseph, the early disciples and Jesus himself. A whole chapter is devoted to resilient women in the Bible.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"rev_body\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eQuestions at the end of each chapter help to move it on from merely information transfer to active engagement and application for one’s own life and at the end there is a personal resilience rating scale to help the reader assess their own level of resilience, as well as a resilience “creed” that is both challenging and inspirational and could be used in a church or group setting. Overall, the book is pitched at a level that any reader looking for help in dealing with life’s normal as well as extreme challenges will be able to respond to with gratitude for the insights and practical counsel given.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI could do worse than sum up the central message of the book through a quotation that the authors have added from Tim Herbert: “How do we develop these deep roots? To use a sapling as an analogy, trees develop deep roots by going through hardship… We know that we need to stake a young tree to stop it blowing over in the first place, but… if we stake it too tightly, it… will not develop deep roots. Only if it is allowed to wave in the wind will its roots go deeper in the ground to provide more stability. The more it shakes, the further the roots will go seeking rocks to hang on to. For us, those rocks are God and the great truths of our salvation.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"blogpost_authorbio\" class=\"clearfix\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eReviewed by Phil Jolley\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"clearfix\"\u003ePhil Jolley works for European Christian Mission International. Previously based in Spain, he now works in the International office as Director of Finance and Administration\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"clearfix\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"clearfix\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"clearfix\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"clearfix\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"clearfix\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"clearfix\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA very personal reader review. Name supplied.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHere is a book suitable for all different types of people: professionals, people with health issues or challenges in any sphere of their lives, and useful to people of other faiths or none. For an understanding of the psychology of resilience beyond its use as a ‘buzzword’ see the first chapter\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCo-written in alternate chapters by a Christian clinical psychologist and a prolific Christian writer and theologian, it is based on a Biblical perspective of resilience, seeking to show that being resilient in the Bible sense does not mean being unflawed, just being willing to persevere and learn lessons from great hardship instead of becoming ‘hardened’ and not giving up!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUsing as an approach a model called ‘SPECS’ (standing for Spiritual, Physical, Emotional, Cognitive \u0026amp; Creative and Social \u0026amp; Systemic) the book helps identify key areas in each of these fields in which to grow in resilience and give oneself ‘margin’ and time to enable the change to take place and ‘take root’.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNow to become more personally specific. I was feeling quite low and not at all ‘bouncy’ when I did the questionnaire at the back of the book and to my surprise, given that I was coping with a very recent Autistic Spectrum Disorder diagnosis, I found that in the sphere of spiritual resilience my ‘score’ was surprisingly high. This is down to a very good family, friends and faith (i.e. Church) support network. It cheered me up just to realise I was not at the ‘bottom of the chart’ when taking all five areas into consideration, but ‘fair to middling’. It helped me differentiate between the physical side and the emotional, social etc. and gave me a greater understanding of areas I could work on.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe book is almost like a devotional at times, with in-depth study of the Bible characters. For me, the ‘Resilient Women of the Bible’ chapter was outstanding. I thoroughly recommend it and I will be giving it to friends – Christians and others –- as I have already seen how it could be of help to people who are family\/carers of people on the Spectrum.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt is also usable as a manual to help with daily life. Debbie Hawker has incorporated a great deal of resilience into her own life through her faith. This for me is the ultimate test of a self-help ‘system’: it works in daily living. Thanks to both authors, great! \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"clearfix\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"clearfix\"\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eEndorsements\u003c\/h5\u003e\nThis is a really useful book - readable, practical and with sufficient supportive evidence and further reading to be authoritative and engaging. \n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eIan Orton\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","published_at":"2019-01-18T15:25:37+00:00","created_at":"2019-01-18T15:25:38+00:00","vendor":"Tony Horsfall","type":"Paperback","tags":["For individuals","Kindle","Leadership","Mar-19","Pastoral care","PDF","Spirituality"],"price":999,"price_min":999,"price_max":999,"available":true,"price_varies":false,"compare_at_price":null,"compare_at_price_min":0,"compare_at_price_max":0,"compare_at_price_varies":false,"variants":[{"id":21770222338148,"title":"Paperback","option1":"Paperback","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"9780857467348","requires_shipping":true,"taxable":false,"featured_image":{"id":10560968654948,"product_id":2439828045924,"position":1,"created_at":"2019-05-17T14:26:08+01:00","updated_at":"2019-07-15T10:46:38+01:00","alt":null,"width":425,"height":600,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857467348-l_grande_3a84b95e-4be3-4914-9be2-cf0d5eaf8695.jpg?v=1563183998","variant_ids":[21770222338148,34809602965656]},"available":true,"name":"Resilience in Life and Faith: Finding your strength in God - Paperback","public_title":"Paperback","options":["Paperback"],"price":999,"weight":220,"compare_at_price":null,"inventory_management":"shopify","barcode":"9780857467348","featured_media":{"alt":null,"id":3266376990859,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":0.708,"height":600,"width":425,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857467348-l_grande_3a84b95e-4be3-4914-9be2-cf0d5eaf8695.jpg?v=1563183998"}},"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_allocations":[]},{"id":34809602965656,"title":"PDF","option1":"PDF","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"9781800390706","requires_shipping":false,"taxable":false,"featured_image":{"id":10560968654948,"product_id":2439828045924,"position":1,"created_at":"2019-05-17T14:26:08+01:00","updated_at":"2019-07-15T10:46:38+01:00","alt":null,"width":425,"height":600,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857467348-l_grande_3a84b95e-4be3-4914-9be2-cf0d5eaf8695.jpg?v=1563183998","variant_ids":[21770222338148,34809602965656]},"available":true,"name":"Resilience in Life and Faith: Finding your strength in God - PDF","public_title":"PDF","options":["PDF"],"price":999,"weight":600,"compare_at_price":null,"inventory_management":"shopify","barcode":"","featured_media":{"alt":null,"id":3266376990859,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":0.708,"height":600,"width":425,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857467348-l_grande_3a84b95e-4be3-4914-9be2-cf0d5eaf8695.jpg?v=1563183998"}},"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_allocations":[]}],"images":["\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857467348-l_grande_3a84b95e-4be3-4914-9be2-cf0d5eaf8695.jpg?v=1563183998"],"featured_image":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857467348-l_grande_3a84b95e-4be3-4914-9be2-cf0d5eaf8695.jpg?v=1563183998","options":["Format"],"media":[{"alt":null,"id":3266376990859,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":0.708,"height":600,"width":425,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857467348-l_grande_3a84b95e-4be3-4914-9be2-cf0d5eaf8695.jpg?v=1563183998"},"aspect_ratio":0.708,"height":600,"media_type":"image","src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857467348-l_grande_3a84b95e-4be3-4914-9be2-cf0d5eaf8695.jpg?v=1563183998","width":425}],"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_groups":[],"content":"\u003cp\u003eTony Horsfall and Debbie Hawker encourage us to develop our resilience and to prepare ourselves for the challenges that life throws at us in an increasingly difficult world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThrough biblical wisdom and psychological insight, they show us how to understand ourselves better, appreciate our areas of strength and strengthen our areas of weakness.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRead this book if you want a faith that persists to the finishing line.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAuthor info\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTony Horsfall is a freelance trainer and associate trainer with EQUIP, a missions programme based near Doncaster. He is an elder of his local church in West Yorkshire and regularly travels abroad leading retreats and Quiet Days. His other books include Spiritual Growth in a Time of Change (BRF, 2016). He also contributes to BRF's New Daylight Bible reading notes. Dr Debbie Hawker is a psychologist based in Nottingham with a global reputation as a specialist in debriefing and trauma counselling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eReviews\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview by Dr. Laura Mae Gardner,\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e f\u003c\/span\u003eormer International Vice President for Personnel for Wycliffe Bible Translators and SIL International. Author of \u003cem\u003eHealthy, Resilient and Effective in Cross-Cultural Ministry. \u003c\/em\u003eMay 2020\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI just finished reading this wonderful book and am strongly impacted by it. It gives sound practical concepts by two very qualified and experienced mission workers who have worldwide awareness. I know these authors and highly respect them. They have given us an immensely useful tool.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe book includes spiritual, physical, emotional, cognitive, social and systemic aspects of resilience. Resilience is illustrated by the lives of Biblical characters—Nehemiah, Elijah, David, Joseph, Paul, Jesus and women as well as men.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe strengths of the book are its Biblical anchoring and its practicality. It is comprehensive and clear. It will be a great resource for pastors, church and organisational leaders as well as individuals in the work force. The book will be a guide for all who have personnel and administrative oversight of workers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Resilience Scale at the end of the book is an excellent self evaluation instrument. It is followed by a faith-based creed, a simple but powerful personal commitment. This book will have a ministry-wide impact.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReviewed by Dr. Laura Mae Gardner, Former International Vice President for Personnel for Wycliffe Bible Translators and SIL International. Author of 'Healthy, Resilient and Effective in Cross-Cultural Ministry'.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Reader, Autumn 2019. Review by Roger Thornington\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe assertion on the back of this book - ‘Read this if you want a faith that persists to the finishing line – develop resilience and prepare for the challenges life throws at us’ sums up the authors’ intention. Does it do what it says on the cover? Debbie Hawker, a clinical psychologist, introduces the subject and contributes chapters on the psychological aspects of resilience using a model of resilience under the following domains: spiritual, physical, emotional, cognitive and creative, and finally social and systemic. Tony Horsfall, a trainer and retreat leader, provides studies of biblical characters illustrating each aspect considered. Each of the 15 short chapters concludes with some questions. Finally there are two appendices – a self-assessment ‘Resilience Rating Scale’ using their model, and then a ‘Resilience Creed’, using scriptural truths to strengthen faith during times of hardship. For those of an investigative nature, 145 annotated references are cited. It is a readable book; I found several nuggets amidst the many referenced opinions and conclusions. In summary, the book should interest Readers keen to investigate and develop the psychological aspects of their faith.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReviewed by Roger Thornington\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChurch of England Newspaper, July 2019. Review by Carol Turner\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn today’s world where so much is ‘instant’ and it is easy to give up and move onto the next thing, resilience seems to be in short supply.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs Christians, Tony Horsfall says, we should fix our eyes on Jesus and keep going. Resilience is what this short paperback is all about and I was amazed at how much is contained in it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe two authors have collaborated well and the chapters really flow together to form one whole. The combination of the authors’ experience in pastoral work, psychology and mission serve to give the book’s content a real depth.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe book focuses on the spiritual, physical, emotional, cognitive \u0026amp; creative and social \u0026amp; systemic aspects of resilience. Of them all as is stated (p167) spiritual resilience is the key and all aspects return to that; the spiritual is not able to be divorced from the rest of our lives.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe format of the book is excellent; the components of resilience are outlined and then applied to the lives of Biblical characters, and for us as Christians today. Practical suggestions are given as to how we can apply the teaching in today’s world. Of further benefit are the questions at the end of each chapter: these are challenging but do not result in readers being ‘put down, there are no wrong answers!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe book is well written and easy to read and understand, and will benefit the lay reader and those with more theological knowledge. I fully intend to re read this book, there is so much to recommend and it gives much food for thought.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReviewed by Carol Turner, midwife with 20 years' experience in Morocco, Sudan, Afghanistan \u0026amp; Burkina Faso. Member of church leadership team in UK.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview by Tim Herbert, Director, SYZYGY Missions Support Network\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTony Horsfall and Debbie Hawker have combined their unique talents to produce this new resource. As one would expect from two authors with excellent track records, it does not disappoint.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDefining resilience not as merely 'bouncing back' (as I so often have done!) but helpfully quoting a variety of authors to demonstrate that the status quo in our lives may not be restored after a trauma, though what we learned in the process changes us for the better, they have come up with their own model for understanding the different facets of life which impact upon our ability. They call it 'SPECS' and I will not explain that here so that I don't have a negative impact on their book sales! Suffice to say it considers all aspects of our human being to ensure we have a complete awareness of how to balance our lives well.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe chapters explore each of these facets in turn, first the psychology (Debbie) and then a character study from the Bible (Tony). This useful pairing means that the theory, presented simply enough for the amateur to understand but deeply enough to be helpful and authoritative, is balanced with lived-out practice, which is thoughtfully and interestingly brought to us. Each chapter closes with helpful questions for reflection, which gives the book the feel more of a devotional rather than a textbook, usefully bringing together two genres. At the end is a quick but effective self-assessment to highlight the reader's current life practice and how it affects each facet of their resilience.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReading this book I felt better informed about resilience, and inspired to maintain it. I commend this resource to practitioners of pastoral care for whom it is an invaluable addition to the bookshelf, and to all Christians who will find information to help them thrive in their daily lives'.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReview by Tim Herbert, Director, SYZYGY Missions Support Network\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview by Phil Jolley of ECMI\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a practical and helpful book dealing with different aspects to help develop resilience alongside snapshots of characters from the Bible that illustrates those aspects at work. The material that is presented covers building resilience in the areas of the spiritual, physical, emotional, cognitive and creative, social and systemic (SPECS) parts of our lives and then illustrates those through the biblical record of characters like Nehemiah, Elijah, David, Joseph, the early disciples and Jesus himself. A whole chapter is devoted to resilient women in the Bible.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"rev_body\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eQuestions at the end of each chapter help to move it on from merely information transfer to active engagement and application for one’s own life and at the end there is a personal resilience rating scale to help the reader assess their own level of resilience, as well as a resilience “creed” that is both challenging and inspirational and could be used in a church or group setting. Overall, the book is pitched at a level that any reader looking for help in dealing with life’s normal as well as extreme challenges will be able to respond to with gratitude for the insights and practical counsel given.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI could do worse than sum up the central message of the book through a quotation that the authors have added from Tim Herbert: “How do we develop these deep roots? To use a sapling as an analogy, trees develop deep roots by going through hardship… We know that we need to stake a young tree to stop it blowing over in the first place, but… if we stake it too tightly, it… will not develop deep roots. Only if it is allowed to wave in the wind will its roots go deeper in the ground to provide more stability. The more it shakes, the further the roots will go seeking rocks to hang on to. For us, those rocks are God and the great truths of our salvation.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"blogpost_authorbio\" class=\"clearfix\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eReviewed by Phil Jolley\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"clearfix\"\u003ePhil Jolley works for European Christian Mission International. Previously based in Spain, he now works in the International office as Director of Finance and Administration\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"clearfix\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"clearfix\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"clearfix\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"clearfix\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"clearfix\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"clearfix\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA very personal reader review. Name supplied.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHere is a book suitable for all different types of people: professionals, people with health issues or challenges in any sphere of their lives, and useful to people of other faiths or none. For an understanding of the psychology of resilience beyond its use as a ‘buzzword’ see the first chapter\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCo-written in alternate chapters by a Christian clinical psychologist and a prolific Christian writer and theologian, it is based on a Biblical perspective of resilience, seeking to show that being resilient in the Bible sense does not mean being unflawed, just being willing to persevere and learn lessons from great hardship instead of becoming ‘hardened’ and not giving up!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUsing as an approach a model called ‘SPECS’ (standing for Spiritual, Physical, Emotional, Cognitive \u0026amp; Creative and Social \u0026amp; Systemic) the book helps identify key areas in each of these fields in which to grow in resilience and give oneself ‘margin’ and time to enable the change to take place and ‘take root’.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNow to become more personally specific. I was feeling quite low and not at all ‘bouncy’ when I did the questionnaire at the back of the book and to my surprise, given that I was coping with a very recent Autistic Spectrum Disorder diagnosis, I found that in the sphere of spiritual resilience my ‘score’ was surprisingly high. This is down to a very good family, friends and faith (i.e. Church) support network. It cheered me up just to realise I was not at the ‘bottom of the chart’ when taking all five areas into consideration, but ‘fair to middling’. It helped me differentiate between the physical side and the emotional, social etc. and gave me a greater understanding of areas I could work on.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe book is almost like a devotional at times, with in-depth study of the Bible characters. For me, the ‘Resilient Women of the Bible’ chapter was outstanding. I thoroughly recommend it and I will be giving it to friends – Christians and others –- as I have already seen how it could be of help to people who are family\/carers of people on the Spectrum.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt is also usable as a manual to help with daily life. Debbie Hawker has incorporated a great deal of resilience into her own life through her faith. This for me is the ultimate test of a self-help ‘system’: it works in daily living. Thanks to both authors, great! \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"clearfix\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"clearfix\"\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eEndorsements\u003c\/h5\u003e\nThis is a really useful book - readable, practical and with sufficient supportive evidence and further reading to be authoritative and engaging. \n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eIan Orton\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e"}
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Resilience in Life and Faith: Finding your strength in God
£9.99
Tony Horsfall and Debbie Hawker encourage us to develop our resilience and to prepare ourselves for the challenges that life...
{"id":2439813759076,"title":"The Contemplative Response: Leadership and ministry in a distracted culture","handle":"the-contemplative-response-leadership-and-ministry-in-a-distracted-culture","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe true self finds peace in resting in the love of God, in the peace which Jesus promises. Jesus says to each of us in ministry, 'As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide, rest, dwell, in my love' (John 15:9). This book will seek to show what this might mean for those in Christian ministry in the 21st century.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFollowing on from the success of \u003cem\u003eThe Contemplative Minister\u003c\/em\u003e, Ian Cowley offers new insight and greater depth for church leaders in a distracted world. Cowley emphasises that the true self finds peace in resting in the love of God, and he encourages ministers to minister to themselves as well as to others, and to ensure that, in the peace that Jesus promises, their spiritual lives don't run dry amid the pressures of the job.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA must-read for leaders wanting to stay the course.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAuthor info\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIan Cowley is Vocations and Spirituality Coordinator for the Diocese of Salisbury and set up and developed the Contemplative Minister programme, which has been greatly appreciated by many clergy. He has also written A People of Hope (Highland, 1993), Going Empty Handed (Monarch, 1996) and The Transformation Principle (Kingsway, 2002). He has been a parish priest in Natal, South Africa, and also in Cambridge and Peterborough.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e To read Ian's lockdown blog 'Wild times and love of God' click \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/blogs\/collections\/wild-times-and-the-love-of-god\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eMedia reviews\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Julian Meetings Magazine, April 2020. Review by Gail Ballinger\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis book explores being a Christian minister or leader in a 'world of ceaseless busyness, endless demands \u0026amp; seductive consumerism'. How to respond to all that drags us away from intimacy with God. How to cope with our compulsive self-centredness. How to reground ourselves: learn contentment, detachment and self-control.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIan considers issues of the false self: the desire to acquire, to achieve, to indulge, together with some ways to deal with them. However, the book opens with him studying theology in his native South Africa and the questions thrown up by apartheid. It closes with chapters on the contemplative heart, ending with interior silence drawing on the Rule of Taizé.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA rewarding and often challenging read, it is very accessible and sympathetic and is for ALL who seek to follow Christ, not just leaders and ministers. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReview by Gail Ballinger\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Merton Journal, Advent 2019. Reviewed by Ben Hopkinson\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat we live in a distracted culture seems almost too obvious to say. Walk down a street, or sit in a railway carriage, and see how many people have their eyes glued to their phones or tablets. Sit in a restaurant and there are almost certainly fellow diners who, though sitting together, seem not to be interested in each other but only in their devices, as these things have come to be called.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe mobile phone is a symbol of our present age, where old patterns of living and working, where old moralities have, in so many ways, been torn to shreds. This pattern of change is not only to be found in the affluent ‘west’ but increasingly across the whole world. Places that were once far removed from advanced technology are now no longer so. Even though there are many people who have not yet caught up or who are neglected, oppressed and set aside, those with power have now found a new means to enforce it. But it is worth noting, too, that the downtrodden are also finding ways of making themselves felt, using new technology to coordinate their protests. The symbol is set in the midst of an affluent culture that seems to set its values as being about how much one has, how successful one is in terms of work position or social status, and how much luxury and comfort a person can grasp, because therein the objectives of life seem to be set.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhere, in this maze, do we set our compass bearings? How do we distinguish what is false about ourselves and our milieu, and find a direction that connects with the truth of who we are as human beings? How do we meet God in the middle of all this noise? These are the vital questions which this book poses and to which it gives possible answers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIan Cowley is an Anglican priest who was born and grew up in South Africa during the years when apartheid was at its most appalling. He has served as a parish priest in Natal and in England. Before retiring from full time ministry he spent eight years as the Vocations and Spirituality Coordinator of the Diocese of Salisbury. He has travelled widely, and soaked himself in the wisdom of Thomas Merton. He finds that by opening ourselves to the presence of God in a way that is discovered through contemplative prayer we can reset our lives to eternal, true and fundamental reality.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe subject matter of this book is of importance for anyone who is trying to follow the Christian way. It is timely, tackling essential problems of discipleship. Primarily, it is written with clergy in mind, and though written from Anglican experience, the quandaries and potential for despair that it addresses are common to clergy of all denominations. Cowley looks the problems in the face, examining them from his own personal context, as he has been 'led to reflect on my own inner life, and the ways in which I tend to respond to the demands and pressures of public ministry. In recent years I have been increasingly aware of my own desires for power and control, for safety and security and for esteem and significance, and of the ways in which these desires are able to rule my heart.'\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGo in peace, I found myself muttering, and pray for me, a sinner, too. His approach gives the book strength, turning it from a self-help manual into a long walk of discussion and suggestion.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCowley looks at how we — I speak, also, from my life as an Anglican priest — who are in positions of leadership, prominence and pastoral care in the Church, can so easily, and maybe willingly, become submerged into the crowd and be swept along in the currents of the day. It seems to me, moreover, that the book applies beyond the ordained ministry and will be equally helpful to lay people, the committed laity who are desperately concerned to live a life of faith in this age of distraction. He compares our situation to that of the swimmer who is caught in the surf of the Indian Ocean beaches of the South African shore, where the waves pick you up and hurl you willy-nilly. We find ourselves in an ocean of change, where new technology and inventions come along every day, making life into a perpetual catch-up, where the idea of Sabbath rest has gone out of the window. Sabbath rest, he says, is, in fact, a lifesaving self discipline which is part of the answer.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHe then talks of how, from out of this falseness which so easily infects us, we can discover God as real. He writes movingly of how, as a young white from a farming background in South Africa, who had never met black people other than as servants and farm labourers, he was confronted in his first year at university by huge questions of the relationship between God and justice. He joined the University Christian Movement — a body which was later proscribed — and mixed face to face, for the first time, with students of different racial backgrounds, who were asking very searching questions and proposing very radical answers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom here grows a repeating theme of the book, the division between the false self and the real self. The false self is the one that conforms to the culture of the world and succumbs to all its lures and ambitions. The real self is the woman or man who is naked before God, brought to an understanding of their true identity, then clothed with the love of God in Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. Once we begin to know ourselves we can grow into who we are created to be.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCowley discusses the blind alleys the false self can lead us into, such as the need to acquire, to achieve success and position, and to be self indulgent. He suggests remedies, like contentment, detachment and self-control. Fine — we can make resolutions but how do we keep to them? It is here, in the last section of the book, that Cowley truly shines, as he deals with how to build up our strength in God. The last four chapters are an excellent introduction to meeting God in contemplation, based on Merton’s teachings. I, for whom the understanding of contemplative prayer has been difficult and who am barely at the kindergarten stage, found them enormously helpful, especially in his relating contemplation to action.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI am not being adversely critical in any way when I say the book is incomplete. It strikes me, rather, as the second part of a trilogy, following on from Cowley’s earlier book \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/products\/the-contemplative-minister-learning-to-lead-from-the-still-centre?_pos=1\u0026amp;_sid=c25d7cb32\u0026amp;_ss=r\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Contemplative Minister: Learning to lead from the still centre\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cem\u003e. \u003c\/em\u003eHe helps those already grounded in their faith to recover their real selves. I wonder if the next step is to ask how we may begin to bring the riches and insights shown, even in our diminutive knowing of God, to those, the majority in the west, who have lost almost all knowledge of God and many of whom are aggressively anti-Christian. Where and how do we meet? I recently read a passage written by a leading particle physicist:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e'To have a scientific mind is to respect the consensus of fact … while maintaining an open mind to the still unknown. It helps to have a humble sense of the essential mystery of the world, for the aspects that are known become even more mysterious when we examine them further. … There is not a thing in nature so ordinary that its contemplation cannot be a route to a wordless sense of wonder and gratitude just to be a part of it all.'\u003csup\u003e2\u003c\/sup\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIs this a meeting point that needs to be developed, a contemplative approach to all knowledge, leading to an undreamed of unity? Fr. Cowley, please write further.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNotes: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1. Lee Smolin: \u003cem\u003eEinstein’s Unfinished Revolution: the Search for what Lies Beyond the Quantum\u003c\/em\u003e (London: Penguin, 2019), Preface.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBen Hopkinson \u003c\/strong\u003eis an Anglican priest, living in retirement in Northumberland. He has served in various parishes in the northern half of England and, also, for seven years, in Botswana, where he came face to face with some of the struggles of Southern Africa.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Reader, Autumn 2019. Review by David Gillies\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe purpose of this book might be summed up in the phrase ‘how to put God at the centre of everything.’ The author tackles head on the compulsions of our consumerist culture and draws on his experience of the close links between contemplation, action and transformation to produce a very practical book for anyone (although its sub-title is ‘Leadership and Ministry in a Distracted Culture’) who is seeking to allow God to be God in him or herself. The middle section of the book, entitled ‘The false self: the compulsions and the remedies’, invites the reader to investigate who they are and to discover their true selves; and the last section of the book is an examination of the importance of contemplative practice in opening one’s heart to the love of God. There are helpful references to all the sources quoted in the book.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReviewed by David Gillies\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e___________________________________________\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBaptist Times Round up May 2019. \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview by Ed Jones\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe subtitle for the latest book by Ian Cowley sets up beautifully one of the many challenges which we find ourselves facing in the world today: leadership and ministry in a distracted culture. It is easy to be distracted by a whole host of things, few are immune. What is more, distractions come in a variety of ways, catching each of us off guard at different times.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBroken into three parts, the book guides the reader to initially ground oneself once again ‘Choose this day whom you will serve’, to be aware of the pulls and strains from the world around us ‘The false self: the compulsion and the remedies’, before finally inviting the reader to connect afresh with God as the means of traversing onward: ‘The contemplative heart’.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you’ve read anything by Ian before, his style is easily readable and engaging. He writes from personal experience, open and honest to the fact that he doesn’t have it all sorted and totally together, yet never losing his focus or the heart of what he’s seeking to convey and communicate - this isn’t a book where the author takes centre stage, it being all about them. Knowledge of his previous book \u003cem\u003eThe Contemplative Minister\u003c\/em\u003e is not a necessity by any means, although he’s obviously building on what he’s written about before.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSpeaking into themes of sabbath and rest, I’d highly recommend this book to anyone who finds themselves ‘too busy’, ‘up against it’ or ’on the treadmill’ of life unsure of what to do about this fact. Well worth taking time out to consider all Ian has to share and the impact it could have on your life and ministry.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eEd Jones is pastor and team leader at Battle Baptist Church in Sussex\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e__________________________________________\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2019-01-18T15:24:43+00:00","created_at":"2019-01-18T15:24:45+00:00","vendor":"Ian Cowley","type":"Paperback","tags":["Jan-19","Kindle","Leadership"],"price":899,"price_min":899,"price_max":899,"available":true,"price_varies":false,"compare_at_price":null,"compare_at_price_min":0,"compare_at_price_max":0,"compare_at_price_varies":false,"variants":[{"id":21769973629028,"title":"Paperback","option1":"Paperback","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"9780857466563","requires_shipping":true,"taxable":false,"featured_image":null,"available":true,"name":"The Contemplative Response: Leadership and ministry in a distracted culture - Paperback","public_title":"Paperback","options":["Paperback"],"price":899,"weight":168,"compare_at_price":null,"inventory_management":"shopify","barcode":"9780857466563","requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_allocations":[]}],"images":["\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857466563-l.jpg?v=1549043126"],"featured_image":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857466563-l.jpg?v=1549043126","options":["Format"],"media":[{"alt":null,"id":3238880837771,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":0.655,"height":650,"width":426,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857466563-l.jpg?v=1549043126"},"aspect_ratio":0.655,"height":650,"media_type":"image","src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857466563-l.jpg?v=1549043126","width":426}],"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_groups":[],"content":"\u003cp\u003eThe true self finds peace in resting in the love of God, in the peace which Jesus promises. Jesus says to each of us in ministry, 'As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide, rest, dwell, in my love' (John 15:9). This book will seek to show what this might mean for those in Christian ministry in the 21st century.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFollowing on from the success of \u003cem\u003eThe Contemplative Minister\u003c\/em\u003e, Ian Cowley offers new insight and greater depth for church leaders in a distracted world. Cowley emphasises that the true self finds peace in resting in the love of God, and he encourages ministers to minister to themselves as well as to others, and to ensure that, in the peace that Jesus promises, their spiritual lives don't run dry amid the pressures of the job.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA must-read for leaders wanting to stay the course.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAuthor info\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIan Cowley is Vocations and Spirituality Coordinator for the Diocese of Salisbury and set up and developed the Contemplative Minister programme, which has been greatly appreciated by many clergy. He has also written A People of Hope (Highland, 1993), Going Empty Handed (Monarch, 1996) and The Transformation Principle (Kingsway, 2002). He has been a parish priest in Natal, South Africa, and also in Cambridge and Peterborough.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e To read Ian's lockdown blog 'Wild times and love of God' click \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/blogs\/collections\/wild-times-and-the-love-of-god\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eMedia reviews\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Julian Meetings Magazine, April 2020. Review by Gail Ballinger\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis book explores being a Christian minister or leader in a 'world of ceaseless busyness, endless demands \u0026amp; seductive consumerism'. How to respond to all that drags us away from intimacy with God. How to cope with our compulsive self-centredness. How to reground ourselves: learn contentment, detachment and self-control.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIan considers issues of the false self: the desire to acquire, to achieve, to indulge, together with some ways to deal with them. However, the book opens with him studying theology in his native South Africa and the questions thrown up by apartheid. It closes with chapters on the contemplative heart, ending with interior silence drawing on the Rule of Taizé.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA rewarding and often challenging read, it is very accessible and sympathetic and is for ALL who seek to follow Christ, not just leaders and ministers. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReview by Gail Ballinger\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Merton Journal, Advent 2019. Reviewed by Ben Hopkinson\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat we live in a distracted culture seems almost too obvious to say. Walk down a street, or sit in a railway carriage, and see how many people have their eyes glued to their phones or tablets. Sit in a restaurant and there are almost certainly fellow diners who, though sitting together, seem not to be interested in each other but only in their devices, as these things have come to be called.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe mobile phone is a symbol of our present age, where old patterns of living and working, where old moralities have, in so many ways, been torn to shreds. This pattern of change is not only to be found in the affluent ‘west’ but increasingly across the whole world. Places that were once far removed from advanced technology are now no longer so. Even though there are many people who have not yet caught up or who are neglected, oppressed and set aside, those with power have now found a new means to enforce it. But it is worth noting, too, that the downtrodden are also finding ways of making themselves felt, using new technology to coordinate their protests. The symbol is set in the midst of an affluent culture that seems to set its values as being about how much one has, how successful one is in terms of work position or social status, and how much luxury and comfort a person can grasp, because therein the objectives of life seem to be set.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhere, in this maze, do we set our compass bearings? How do we distinguish what is false about ourselves and our milieu, and find a direction that connects with the truth of who we are as human beings? How do we meet God in the middle of all this noise? These are the vital questions which this book poses and to which it gives possible answers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIan Cowley is an Anglican priest who was born and grew up in South Africa during the years when apartheid was at its most appalling. He has served as a parish priest in Natal and in England. Before retiring from full time ministry he spent eight years as the Vocations and Spirituality Coordinator of the Diocese of Salisbury. He has travelled widely, and soaked himself in the wisdom of Thomas Merton. He finds that by opening ourselves to the presence of God in a way that is discovered through contemplative prayer we can reset our lives to eternal, true and fundamental reality.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe subject matter of this book is of importance for anyone who is trying to follow the Christian way. It is timely, tackling essential problems of discipleship. Primarily, it is written with clergy in mind, and though written from Anglican experience, the quandaries and potential for despair that it addresses are common to clergy of all denominations. Cowley looks the problems in the face, examining them from his own personal context, as he has been 'led to reflect on my own inner life, and the ways in which I tend to respond to the demands and pressures of public ministry. In recent years I have been increasingly aware of my own desires for power and control, for safety and security and for esteem and significance, and of the ways in which these desires are able to rule my heart.'\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGo in peace, I found myself muttering, and pray for me, a sinner, too. His approach gives the book strength, turning it from a self-help manual into a long walk of discussion and suggestion.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCowley looks at how we — I speak, also, from my life as an Anglican priest — who are in positions of leadership, prominence and pastoral care in the Church, can so easily, and maybe willingly, become submerged into the crowd and be swept along in the currents of the day. It seems to me, moreover, that the book applies beyond the ordained ministry and will be equally helpful to lay people, the committed laity who are desperately concerned to live a life of faith in this age of distraction. He compares our situation to that of the swimmer who is caught in the surf of the Indian Ocean beaches of the South African shore, where the waves pick you up and hurl you willy-nilly. We find ourselves in an ocean of change, where new technology and inventions come along every day, making life into a perpetual catch-up, where the idea of Sabbath rest has gone out of the window. Sabbath rest, he says, is, in fact, a lifesaving self discipline which is part of the answer.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHe then talks of how, from out of this falseness which so easily infects us, we can discover God as real. He writes movingly of how, as a young white from a farming background in South Africa, who had never met black people other than as servants and farm labourers, he was confronted in his first year at university by huge questions of the relationship between God and justice. He joined the University Christian Movement — a body which was later proscribed — and mixed face to face, for the first time, with students of different racial backgrounds, who were asking very searching questions and proposing very radical answers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom here grows a repeating theme of the book, the division between the false self and the real self. The false self is the one that conforms to the culture of the world and succumbs to all its lures and ambitions. The real self is the woman or man who is naked before God, brought to an understanding of their true identity, then clothed with the love of God in Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. Once we begin to know ourselves we can grow into who we are created to be.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCowley discusses the blind alleys the false self can lead us into, such as the need to acquire, to achieve success and position, and to be self indulgent. He suggests remedies, like contentment, detachment and self-control. Fine — we can make resolutions but how do we keep to them? It is here, in the last section of the book, that Cowley truly shines, as he deals with how to build up our strength in God. The last four chapters are an excellent introduction to meeting God in contemplation, based on Merton’s teachings. I, for whom the understanding of contemplative prayer has been difficult and who am barely at the kindergarten stage, found them enormously helpful, especially in his relating contemplation to action.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI am not being adversely critical in any way when I say the book is incomplete. It strikes me, rather, as the second part of a trilogy, following on from Cowley’s earlier book \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/products\/the-contemplative-minister-learning-to-lead-from-the-still-centre?_pos=1\u0026amp;_sid=c25d7cb32\u0026amp;_ss=r\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Contemplative Minister: Learning to lead from the still centre\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cem\u003e. \u003c\/em\u003eHe helps those already grounded in their faith to recover their real selves. I wonder if the next step is to ask how we may begin to bring the riches and insights shown, even in our diminutive knowing of God, to those, the majority in the west, who have lost almost all knowledge of God and many of whom are aggressively anti-Christian. Where and how do we meet? I recently read a passage written by a leading particle physicist:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e'To have a scientific mind is to respect the consensus of fact … while maintaining an open mind to the still unknown. It helps to have a humble sense of the essential mystery of the world, for the aspects that are known become even more mysterious when we examine them further. … There is not a thing in nature so ordinary that its contemplation cannot be a route to a wordless sense of wonder and gratitude just to be a part of it all.'\u003csup\u003e2\u003c\/sup\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIs this a meeting point that needs to be developed, a contemplative approach to all knowledge, leading to an undreamed of unity? Fr. Cowley, please write further.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNotes: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1. Lee Smolin: \u003cem\u003eEinstein’s Unfinished Revolution: the Search for what Lies Beyond the Quantum\u003c\/em\u003e (London: Penguin, 2019), Preface.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBen Hopkinson \u003c\/strong\u003eis an Anglican priest, living in retirement in Northumberland. He has served in various parishes in the northern half of England and, also, for seven years, in Botswana, where he came face to face with some of the struggles of Southern Africa.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Reader, Autumn 2019. Review by David Gillies\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe purpose of this book might be summed up in the phrase ‘how to put God at the centre of everything.’ The author tackles head on the compulsions of our consumerist culture and draws on his experience of the close links between contemplation, action and transformation to produce a very practical book for anyone (although its sub-title is ‘Leadership and Ministry in a Distracted Culture’) who is seeking to allow God to be God in him or herself. The middle section of the book, entitled ‘The false self: the compulsions and the remedies’, invites the reader to investigate who they are and to discover their true selves; and the last section of the book is an examination of the importance of contemplative practice in opening one’s heart to the love of God. There are helpful references to all the sources quoted in the book.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReviewed by David Gillies\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e___________________________________________\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBaptist Times Round up May 2019. \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview by Ed Jones\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe subtitle for the latest book by Ian Cowley sets up beautifully one of the many challenges which we find ourselves facing in the world today: leadership and ministry in a distracted culture. It is easy to be distracted by a whole host of things, few are immune. What is more, distractions come in a variety of ways, catching each of us off guard at different times.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBroken into three parts, the book guides the reader to initially ground oneself once again ‘Choose this day whom you will serve’, to be aware of the pulls and strains from the world around us ‘The false self: the compulsion and the remedies’, before finally inviting the reader to connect afresh with God as the means of traversing onward: ‘The contemplative heart’.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you’ve read anything by Ian before, his style is easily readable and engaging. He writes from personal experience, open and honest to the fact that he doesn’t have it all sorted and totally together, yet never losing his focus or the heart of what he’s seeking to convey and communicate - this isn’t a book where the author takes centre stage, it being all about them. Knowledge of his previous book \u003cem\u003eThe Contemplative Minister\u003c\/em\u003e is not a necessity by any means, although he’s obviously building on what he’s written about before.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSpeaking into themes of sabbath and rest, I’d highly recommend this book to anyone who finds themselves ‘too busy’, ‘up against it’ or ’on the treadmill’ of life unsure of what to do about this fact. Well worth taking time out to consider all Ian has to share and the impact it could have on your life and ministry.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eEd Jones is pastor and team leader at Battle Baptist Church in Sussex\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e__________________________________________\u003c\/p\u003e"}
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The Contemplative Response: Leadership and ministry in a distracted culture
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The true self finds peace in resting in the love of God, in the peace which Jesus promises. Jesus says...
{"id":2439813398628,"title":"Sustaining Leadership: You are more important than your ministry","handle":"sustaining-leadership-you-are-more-important-than-your-ministry","description":"\u003cp\u003eMany books on leadership and ministry are written from the point of view of success and strength. In Sustaining Leadership Paul Swann writes out of the raw experience of failure, getting to the heart of who we are as leaders rather than what we do. From this, he offers both hope and practical resources for sustaining effective long-term ministry, looking at self-care, balance and healthy ministry, feasting on divine love, and more. As he says, this is the best gift we can offer those we serve.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eEndorsements\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a story of a successfully growing ministry plunged suddenly into soul searching physical, mental and emotional depths. At times shockingly raw, these personal experiences, reflected on so honestly, drive home such hard learned spiritual insights, that I needed to re-read some sections to allow the message to sink in. And it's a profound message: learning simply to be still before God; clinging to personal worth even at the expense of ministry; loving self as well as neighbour; enjoying real Sabbath rest. This is not a book for the casual believer or religiously comfortable. Neither is it just for 'leaders'. Rather, it is essential reading for those courageous enough to accept a God given call to active and costly service. Spoiler alert! It does all work out well in the end. But that, after all, is rather down to God.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eClive Langmead, Author\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis courageous, raw and inspiring book is a 'must read' for any who long to live in the fullness God intends for us, amidst the realities and challenges of everyday life. A 'how to' walk the Truth of God's strength in our weakness. I wish I had had this treasure twenty years ago!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAlina Clarke\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis book is both wonderfully easy to read yet at the same time deeply challenging. Paul Swann's gutsy and honest story made me realise the true importance of self-care in ministry (which is ideal as I prepare for ordination). The 'Pause to Reflect' moments scattered throughout the book really help with not just reading it as someone else's story but as a guide through your own story too. This will be re-read many times in the years to come!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSarah Bardell (Ordinand)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAuthenticity is perhaps the most important value for any religion in the 21st Century Western world. Paul Swann demonstrates in this vital book how the Christian religion and its leaders can be authentic and life-giving even in the most desperate, dark and dismal of experiences that arise from becoming 'addicted' to ministry. Combining insights from the bible, contemporary film and popular culture with his own deeply vulnerable experience here is a plea for leadership which is rooted way down in the God who simply is and therefore is not trying to be anything it can't be, other than the sharing of our beautiful and flawed humanity. I hope it becomes widely used in our highly anxious and often success oriented church systems.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRevd Canon Dr Nigel Rooms, Leader, Partnership for Missional Church UK\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePaul, I wish you had written your book 50 years ago! But at least it was published at the end of a long hot summer, when I'm wondering if I shall ever walk the hills again... but the last chapter (as you say) belongs to hope! Your humbling honesty, coupled with wonderful biblical expositions, have brought both inspiration and clarification. I now know what I want to be when I grow up!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRevd Michael Dunn (Spiritual Director and Retired Priest)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSO refreshing to have this deep wisdom - on being\/doing, self-care\/giving, nature of success etc - served up from the point of view of someone who has got there the hard way. This is not a happy, shiny, just-copy-me sort of read, it's more in the painful\/raw\/honest category, which adds to its value. And although this is a Christian book written out of his experience of being a vicar I'd say it's pretty clearly going to be profoundly helpful to a whole range of people. I've already bought four more to pass on!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRevd Owen Gallacher (Vicar)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHaving known Paul for many years, we initially bought this book to support him. I'm not a great reader but it was such a delight that I soon finished it. Paul speaks openly of his struggles and sets out the challenges we all face in our lives and how to balance things before it gets too much. I would highly recommend this resource to people in any form of leadership.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAndy Davenport (Computer Programmer)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAuthor info\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePaul Swann trained for ordination in the Anglican Church and served in two growing parishes in the Diocese of Worcester. In 2008, Paul was forced to retire early and spent four years in the wilderness of total fatigue. Since 2012, Paul has begun to offer a new ministry from this place of weakness. He has served as diocesan adviser on spirituality, offers spiritual direction and leads retreats. The insights of this book are drawn from these experiences.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eMedia reviews\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview of Sustaining Leadership - Evangelicals Now, April 2019. Review by\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRichard Underwood\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePaul Swann served in two Anglican parishes in the Diocese of Worcester. In 2008, he retired early and spent two years existing on what he describes as 'Planet Fragile'.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eSustaining Leadership\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003eis his story, but much more.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn Part I, Swann describes the process of his own disintegration as he slipped into that slough of physical, mental and emotional despond we call ME.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn Part II, he offers us first his personal and theological reflection on reintegration and then, in Part III, a host of practical and life-enhancing measures towards beginning and nurturing that process.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWriting for a broader constituency than mine and drawing on an impressive range of sources and resources, the basic thesis of this short book is that 'broken is best' ... that our human capabilities are often expressions of weakness rather than strength ... that Father-God is more concerned about we are in him than what we do for him. As Paul Swann rightly observes, we are 'human beings' rather than 'human doings'. What we do should flow from who we are, rather than the other way round.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe remedy for our pervasive passion for proving ourselves is to take a long hard look at the three dials on the dashboard of our humanity - our God-given physical, spiritual and emotional needs. It's time for those of us who are pastors to take control of our self care and our soul care. If we can't care for ourselves, how can we hope to care for those the Lord Jesus has entrusted to us?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe don't have to do this on our own; we need both personal friends and the body of the local church to help and encourage us. Taking\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eSustaining Leadership\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003eto heart will fill us not with optimism, but with hope. As Paul Swann rightly observes: 'What we hope for is secondary to who we hope in'.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWho should read this book? Every pastor on sabbatical who has time to think and pray. Every member of a leadership team that has responsibility for caring for its pastoral staff. And every church member who is concerned to encourage their pastors and help them thrive in serving the Lord Jesus for the long haul. Humanly, the health of our churches and the spread of the Lord Jesus' mission depends on the well-being of our pastors.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReview by Richard Underwood, Elder, Christchurch, Market Harborough\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e_______________________________________________\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Reader, Spring 2019. Review by John Knowles\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e'Jesus' disciples learnt what it meant to follow him through failed fishing trips, under-catered picnics and abortive exorcisms' sets the context for a very frank description of what happened after Paul Swann woke one morning with chronic ME. In his own words: 'I had been smashed to pieces through overwork, stress, damage to health and lack of self-care.' Out of his own experience come very practical and specific self-care strategies that recognise the specific stresses, positive and negative, that often accompany church leadership. Central to the book's thrust is its subtitle - 'You are more important that your ministry' - with the need to keep life and ministry in balance, where being is more important than doing and the rediscovery of Sabbath can be the antidote to 'hurry sickness'. Ministry can be very challenging and my experience as a diocesan Warden of Readers would suggest that it is not just stipendiary clergy who need to take care of themselves, making the advice enormously valuable to all in church leadership long before any warning lights begin to flash. Buy a copy for yourself and one for your incumbent!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReview by John Knowles\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview by Revd Kate Wharton. 12.01.19 \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/katewharton.blogspot.com\/2019\/01\/book-review-sustaining-leadership.html\"\u003ehttps:\/\/katewharton.blogspot.com\/2019\/01\/book-review-sustaining-leadership.html\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a wildly and hopelessly overdue blog! I read this wonderful book ages ago, and promised to review it here, but never got round to it. And be assured that the irony of not being able to find time to review a book about developing and maintaining healthy patterns of life and work is in no way lost on me...\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe book is written by Paul Swann, and its subtitle is 'You are more important than your ministry'. A reasonable enough statement, you'd think, except that so many of us seem to forget this at one time or another, as we fall into the trap of believing ourselves to be indispensable, and allow our diaries, our ministries and our pressures define us.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePaul Swann speaks from very personal, and very difficult, experience. In 2005 he experienced a period of illness and fatigue which resulted in 4 years of trying to manage his health and ministry, before he decided completely to step back from his full time role. Out of that experience, and the ways in which he has since sought to rebuild and rebalance his life, he shares much insight and wisdom which every one of us in any sort of 'ministry' role would do well to heed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis book is really superb, and an absolute must read. It's easy to read in the sense of being clear and well written, with short chapters, but certainly not in the sense of being without substance. I sense that it's a book I will return to time and time again throughout the course of my ministry, when I need to be reminded of the nuggets it contains.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn the first page of the Introduction comes a quote that I know I need to keep front and centre of my mind (from Parker Palmer): 'Self-care is never a selfish act - it is simply good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift I was put on earth to offer to others.'\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI know I have found a book enormously helpful when I highlight something on almost every page - and my copy of Sustaining Leadership is already well thumbed and with many yellow highlights! \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn Part 1, entitled 'Disintegration' Paul outlines his own story in 'Arriving on Planet Fragile'. I read it knowing it could easily have been me or any one of us. He is honest about his own personal and painful experiences, and the devastating impact they had upon him.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn Part 2, 'Reintegration', Paul describes how he began to recover, and gives a wealth of invaluable advice about self care, what healthy and unhealthy patterns of ministry might look like, and how we can find the right balance of all the competing demands and priorities within our lives.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI often say that the thing I find most frustrating about my job as a vicar (which I love almost all of the time), is that it is simply never finished. There is always something more which could or should be done. Paul speaks to this when he writes, 'From where will you get your permission to stop? It will not come from completing a job that has no ending, from receiving affirmation that seldom comes or from a hierarchical permission that rarely exists. Instead, it will have to come from the self-love and self-care of which we have spoken, augmented by obedience to the fourth commandment, which is our permission to rest.' I'm seriously considering getting that tattooed on my person, or at the very least stuck on the door of my study!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePart 3 is called 'Holding on to Hope'. This reminds us of why we ultimately do what we do, and in whose strength we do it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI really enjoyed the way this book is written. It is very practical, and actively encourages the reader to engage with the content rather than just to read the words. Throughout the book there are grey boxes where questions are asked which invite us to pause and reflect.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis book is immensely real and honest, with just the right level of challenge - having gone through such a difficult period in his own life, Paul very much wants to make sure that others don't have to go through the same thing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis book is wonderful and important - a definite must read for anyone involved in any kind of leadership or ministry. The future you will be glad you read this book now!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs Paul says in the Introduction: 'Sustaining Leadership is not a book about what to do as a leader. It is a book about how to be as a leader.'\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReview by Kate Wharton\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLead On - CPAS e-newsletter, January 2019 Review by James Lawrence\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt the start of the year it is good to take stock, to think and pray about the pressure and pace of life and leadership and any adjustments that it might be good to make for the year ahead. If you are planning to do that in any way, may I encourage you to get hold of Sustaining Leadership.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePaul Swann writes from personal experience of having 'four years in the wilderness of total fatigue'. This is an honest book. It recounts his descent into a place of fragility, and the stripping away of many of the things he relied on to bolster his own sense of identity. He reflects that there are 'no words to describe the density of the darkness and the intensity of the isolation.'\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThen follow chapters that helpfully explore the relationship between self-care and self-sacrifice, ways of identifying 'hurry sickness', symptoms of burn out and stress, the place of boundary keeping and Sabbath disciplines. The insights are well illustrated from a wide variety of sources, and contain short perceptive comments that make you think: for example 'margin is the vital space between your load and your limits.' The final chapters on soul food and holding onto hope introduce practical ways to self-compassion.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSustaining Leadership will make a good companion for a Quiet Day or a month of reflecting on yourself through January. Heed its wise insights, and we may find ourselves in a more sustainable place as leaders.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReview by James Lawrence, Director CPAS\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChurch Times, 12 October 2018. Review by Peter Selby, former Bishop of Worcester\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSee beyond the small size of this book to an offering of generosity and wide-ranging wisdom.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIts generosity lies in Paul Swann's writing about his experience of illness without holding much back: he invites us into his experience of chronic fatigue. We are given a graphic, though not over-dramatised, account of the terrible toll that ME took on the author.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEven more significant is the particular distress that burnout brings to a person of great talent and deep commitment, when he reaches the point when he has to say, 'I can't do this any more.' Fragility - to put it mildly - was what he encountered as he 'hit the buffers'; then fragility was what had gradually to be emerged from, and then, as its meaning became clear, to be embraced.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo, the first third of the book is about that experience, although even as we read it we have the sense that faith, though tested, never totally lost its ability to provide perspective and meaning in his suffering. That perspective is the foundation for the wisdom in the next hundred pages: the practical necessity as well as the spiritual importance of self-care, particularly for the most energetic, creative, and committed, who find self-care hardest.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn many sermons, the Pauline image of the clay pot - to which Swann refers a great deal - can remain a general comment about ministerial humility rather than pointing to specific vulnerabilities that need specific remedies and responses. It is because this author gets specific that this book is lifted above well-meaning exhortation to be both challenging and of practical use to those who find it hard in practice to accept the subtitle's message that 'You are more important than your ministry.' The many examples of vulnerability and practical self-care are supported by a wide selection of biblical citation and the wider reading that was, no doubt, part of the author's self-care.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlongside all that is worth while in the book, there remain some questions. Surely, a more artistic and nourishing front-cover design would have portrayed the book more accurately. And isn't the subtitle rather than the title the real message of this book? It is for everyone, not just, or even mainly, 'leaders'? The book is at least partly a critique of what the designation 'leader' engenders.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYet, if this is a book for everyone, it especially challenges those who have oversight of others' ministry. I happen to have been the bishop involved in the author's call to undertake the special challenge of growing and enlivening a church in the centre of Worcester. It is hardly a decision that I can regret, given all the good that has flowed from it. But, since the disintegration and the reintegration that this book describes are also what (in part) flowed from that decision, I found the book a particular challenge.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLooking at my former ministry, I ask myself, in gladly appointing some of our strongest people to the hardest tasks, are we as aware as we need to be of the particular support and resourcing needs that such colleagues have? Or do we just hope that the talented and the committed will find their own way of avoiding burnout? That goes along with a more searching question: how well are we ourselves modelling self-care?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut this gentle author also knows how to use examples that challenge lightly; so if you ever catch yourself not completing the two minutes that your electric toothbrush allows, remember it's not just your teeth that you're not caring for.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReview by t\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003ehe Rt Revd Dr Peter Selby, a former Bishop of Worcester\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview by Revd Canon Steve Coneys, Mission and Growth Advisor, Canterbury Diocese\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat happens when you realise that the work you love is making you sick?\u003cbr\u003eThis gem of a book traces the story of how a capable Christian leader experiences such physical and emotional disintegration that he hears himself saying to his bishop, 'I can't do this any more'.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLucid and concise, Paul Swann's book is an essay in practical spirituality, one that is based on grace rather than our own attempts at self-justifying significance. The central argument is that, with a proper understanding of our belovedness as God's children, and a clear view of God's loving character, we can be freed to care for ourselves and live healthy, grateful lives. How many of us, not just Christian leaders, need to learn this lesson?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt is the way the writer communicates the reality of grace in the midst his own sense of failure and weakness which distinguishes this book: 'One day, as I was struggling with low self-esteem and the battle to recover... I complained to God, 'This is too hard for me to do!' Swiftly and firmly, but with extreme gentleness, came the response: 'Is it too hard to be my son?'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eInsights from films like Wonder Woman, spiritual writers like Margery Kempe, storytellers such as Lewis Carroll and theologians like Walter Breuggemann, combine with Paul Swann's own experience of reintegration to make the book a compelling read. The lesson that every Christian minister - every human being - needs to hear is brought home with elegance and power: you are more important than what you do. Get hold of this book and read it slowly. If I could, I would buy a copy for every church leader I know.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eRevd Canon Steve Coneys, Mission and Growth Advisor, Canterbury Diocese\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview by John Pellowe\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis book is a real challenge to church leaders to take better care of themselves and to more intentionally build up the local church they serve. Paul Swann's story of his descent into illness, burnout, and depression is mercifully short (one chapter) but it is sufficient to help people who have not had a similar experience to understand what it is really like, and how much they are suffering something real. He gave me a real empathy for those who suffered as he did.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI really thought it helpful how he framed his situation - 'fragility' is such a good word! We are all fragile people and need to accept that fragility is part of our human condition. No one is impervious to what this writer experienced. The two chapters on emerging from fragility and embracing fragility are very practical and inspirational. Paul has redeemed his story of recovery in sharing it with others, and much good will come of it, I'm sure.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe rest of the book is full of great ideas to build strength into the people of the Church so that we can better serve those in the world around us who are suffering, as well as protecting ourselves from suffering as Paul did.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen I finished the book, my thought was, 'How much more effective the Church would be if we all caught on to the principles and practices outlined in the book!'\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReview by John Pellowe, CEO Canadian Council of Christian Charities\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview by Timothy Marlow, Business Consultant and IT Director\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the world in which we live, everyone wants to be seen as perfect. We gloss over the failures, claim insight after the event which wasn't there at the time, even post our best selfies on social media. We long to be seen as successful, and to be liked by all.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut what happens when it all goes wrong? When you're made redundant? Or you're broken by the expectations placed on you? Especially if you're supposed to be in Christian ministry?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePaul Swann has helpfully broken this book into small digestible chunks, with loads of practical advice. If you're in pain, or struggling in any way. Even if you're just feeling a little weary or burdened, then you can flick through it and find something which resonates before working out from there.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePaul observes that burnout doesn't suddenly happen. Rather it creeps up on us over time. We all need the advice he gives for maintaining ourselves. Buy this book, read it carefully, then keep it handy so that you can dip into it regularly.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eTimothy Marlow, Business Consultant and IT Director\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview by Steve Chase\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSustaining Leadership is written from the reality of Paul Swann's own personal journey through the difficult challenges of leadership and life. He writes with honesty, great vulnerability and deep self-awareness. Sharing lessons hard learnt in the weakness of his humanity, Paul takes the reader gently into some of the places we so often avoid. He offers proven examples from his own faith journey, along with insights from the lives of those who gone before, that our most authentic identity is found in being loved by God. Paul encourages the discovery of that authentic place of 'being', from which all can learn to love well, live well and lead well! I have already brought 3 copies and passed them on!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSteve Chase\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2019-01-18T15:24:42+00:00","created_at":"2019-01-18T15:24:43+00:00","vendor":"Paul Swann","type":"Paperback","tags":["Jul-18","Kindle","Leadership"],"price":899,"price_min":899,"price_max":899,"available":true,"price_varies":false,"compare_at_price":null,"compare_at_price_min":0,"compare_at_price_max":0,"compare_at_price_varies":false,"variants":[{"id":21769971662948,"title":"Paperback","option1":"Paperback","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"9780857466518","requires_shipping":true,"taxable":false,"featured_image":{"id":7436952633444,"product_id":2439813398628,"position":1,"created_at":"2019-01-18T15:24:43+00:00","updated_at":"2019-02-01T17:45:26+00:00","alt":null,"width":427,"height":650,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857466518-l.jpg?v=1549043126","variant_ids":[21769971662948]},"available":true,"name":"Sustaining Leadership: You are more important than your ministry - Paperback","public_title":"Paperback","options":["Paperback"],"price":899,"weight":186,"compare_at_price":null,"inventory_management":"shopify","barcode":"9780857466518","featured_media":{"alt":null,"id":3238880805003,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":0.657,"height":650,"width":427,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857466518-l.jpg?v=1549043126"}},"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_allocations":[]}],"images":["\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857466518-l.jpg?v=1549043126"],"featured_image":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857466518-l.jpg?v=1549043126","options":["Format"],"media":[{"alt":null,"id":3238880805003,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":0.657,"height":650,"width":427,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857466518-l.jpg?v=1549043126"},"aspect_ratio":0.657,"height":650,"media_type":"image","src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857466518-l.jpg?v=1549043126","width":427}],"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_groups":[],"content":"\u003cp\u003eMany books on leadership and ministry are written from the point of view of success and strength. In Sustaining Leadership Paul Swann writes out of the raw experience of failure, getting to the heart of who we are as leaders rather than what we do. From this, he offers both hope and practical resources for sustaining effective long-term ministry, looking at self-care, balance and healthy ministry, feasting on divine love, and more. As he says, this is the best gift we can offer those we serve.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eEndorsements\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a story of a successfully growing ministry plunged suddenly into soul searching physical, mental and emotional depths. At times shockingly raw, these personal experiences, reflected on so honestly, drive home such hard learned spiritual insights, that I needed to re-read some sections to allow the message to sink in. And it's a profound message: learning simply to be still before God; clinging to personal worth even at the expense of ministry; loving self as well as neighbour; enjoying real Sabbath rest. This is not a book for the casual believer or religiously comfortable. Neither is it just for 'leaders'. Rather, it is essential reading for those courageous enough to accept a God given call to active and costly service. Spoiler alert! It does all work out well in the end. But that, after all, is rather down to God.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eClive Langmead, Author\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis courageous, raw and inspiring book is a 'must read' for any who long to live in the fullness God intends for us, amidst the realities and challenges of everyday life. A 'how to' walk the Truth of God's strength in our weakness. I wish I had had this treasure twenty years ago!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAlina Clarke\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis book is both wonderfully easy to read yet at the same time deeply challenging. Paul Swann's gutsy and honest story made me realise the true importance of self-care in ministry (which is ideal as I prepare for ordination). The 'Pause to Reflect' moments scattered throughout the book really help with not just reading it as someone else's story but as a guide through your own story too. This will be re-read many times in the years to come!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSarah Bardell (Ordinand)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAuthenticity is perhaps the most important value for any religion in the 21st Century Western world. Paul Swann demonstrates in this vital book how the Christian religion and its leaders can be authentic and life-giving even in the most desperate, dark and dismal of experiences that arise from becoming 'addicted' to ministry. Combining insights from the bible, contemporary film and popular culture with his own deeply vulnerable experience here is a plea for leadership which is rooted way down in the God who simply is and therefore is not trying to be anything it can't be, other than the sharing of our beautiful and flawed humanity. I hope it becomes widely used in our highly anxious and often success oriented church systems.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRevd Canon Dr Nigel Rooms, Leader, Partnership for Missional Church UK\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePaul, I wish you had written your book 50 years ago! But at least it was published at the end of a long hot summer, when I'm wondering if I shall ever walk the hills again... but the last chapter (as you say) belongs to hope! Your humbling honesty, coupled with wonderful biblical expositions, have brought both inspiration and clarification. I now know what I want to be when I grow up!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRevd Michael Dunn (Spiritual Director and Retired Priest)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSO refreshing to have this deep wisdom - on being\/doing, self-care\/giving, nature of success etc - served up from the point of view of someone who has got there the hard way. This is not a happy, shiny, just-copy-me sort of read, it's more in the painful\/raw\/honest category, which adds to its value. And although this is a Christian book written out of his experience of being a vicar I'd say it's pretty clearly going to be profoundly helpful to a whole range of people. I've already bought four more to pass on!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRevd Owen Gallacher (Vicar)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHaving known Paul for many years, we initially bought this book to support him. I'm not a great reader but it was such a delight that I soon finished it. Paul speaks openly of his struggles and sets out the challenges we all face in our lives and how to balance things before it gets too much. I would highly recommend this resource to people in any form of leadership.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAndy Davenport (Computer Programmer)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAuthor info\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePaul Swann trained for ordination in the Anglican Church and served in two growing parishes in the Diocese of Worcester. In 2008, Paul was forced to retire early and spent four years in the wilderness of total fatigue. Since 2012, Paul has begun to offer a new ministry from this place of weakness. He has served as diocesan adviser on spirituality, offers spiritual direction and leads retreats. The insights of this book are drawn from these experiences.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eMedia reviews\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview of Sustaining Leadership - Evangelicals Now, April 2019. Review by\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRichard Underwood\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePaul Swann served in two Anglican parishes in the Diocese of Worcester. In 2008, he retired early and spent two years existing on what he describes as 'Planet Fragile'.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eSustaining Leadership\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003eis his story, but much more.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn Part I, Swann describes the process of his own disintegration as he slipped into that slough of physical, mental and emotional despond we call ME.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn Part II, he offers us first his personal and theological reflection on reintegration and then, in Part III, a host of practical and life-enhancing measures towards beginning and nurturing that process.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWriting for a broader constituency than mine and drawing on an impressive range of sources and resources, the basic thesis of this short book is that 'broken is best' ... that our human capabilities are often expressions of weakness rather than strength ... that Father-God is more concerned about we are in him than what we do for him. As Paul Swann rightly observes, we are 'human beings' rather than 'human doings'. What we do should flow from who we are, rather than the other way round.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe remedy for our pervasive passion for proving ourselves is to take a long hard look at the three dials on the dashboard of our humanity - our God-given physical, spiritual and emotional needs. It's time for those of us who are pastors to take control of our self care and our soul care. If we can't care for ourselves, how can we hope to care for those the Lord Jesus has entrusted to us?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe don't have to do this on our own; we need both personal friends and the body of the local church to help and encourage us. Taking\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eSustaining Leadership\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003eto heart will fill us not with optimism, but with hope. As Paul Swann rightly observes: 'What we hope for is secondary to who we hope in'.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWho should read this book? Every pastor on sabbatical who has time to think and pray. Every member of a leadership team that has responsibility for caring for its pastoral staff. And every church member who is concerned to encourage their pastors and help them thrive in serving the Lord Jesus for the long haul. Humanly, the health of our churches and the spread of the Lord Jesus' mission depends on the well-being of our pastors.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReview by Richard Underwood, Elder, Christchurch, Market Harborough\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e_______________________________________________\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Reader, Spring 2019. Review by John Knowles\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e'Jesus' disciples learnt what it meant to follow him through failed fishing trips, under-catered picnics and abortive exorcisms' sets the context for a very frank description of what happened after Paul Swann woke one morning with chronic ME. In his own words: 'I had been smashed to pieces through overwork, stress, damage to health and lack of self-care.' Out of his own experience come very practical and specific self-care strategies that recognise the specific stresses, positive and negative, that often accompany church leadership. Central to the book's thrust is its subtitle - 'You are more important that your ministry' - with the need to keep life and ministry in balance, where being is more important than doing and the rediscovery of Sabbath can be the antidote to 'hurry sickness'. Ministry can be very challenging and my experience as a diocesan Warden of Readers would suggest that it is not just stipendiary clergy who need to take care of themselves, making the advice enormously valuable to all in church leadership long before any warning lights begin to flash. Buy a copy for yourself and one for your incumbent!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReview by John Knowles\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview by Revd Kate Wharton. 12.01.19 \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/katewharton.blogspot.com\/2019\/01\/book-review-sustaining-leadership.html\"\u003ehttps:\/\/katewharton.blogspot.com\/2019\/01\/book-review-sustaining-leadership.html\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a wildly and hopelessly overdue blog! I read this wonderful book ages ago, and promised to review it here, but never got round to it. And be assured that the irony of not being able to find time to review a book about developing and maintaining healthy patterns of life and work is in no way lost on me...\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe book is written by Paul Swann, and its subtitle is 'You are more important than your ministry'. A reasonable enough statement, you'd think, except that so many of us seem to forget this at one time or another, as we fall into the trap of believing ourselves to be indispensable, and allow our diaries, our ministries and our pressures define us.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePaul Swann speaks from very personal, and very difficult, experience. In 2005 he experienced a period of illness and fatigue which resulted in 4 years of trying to manage his health and ministry, before he decided completely to step back from his full time role. Out of that experience, and the ways in which he has since sought to rebuild and rebalance his life, he shares much insight and wisdom which every one of us in any sort of 'ministry' role would do well to heed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis book is really superb, and an absolute must read. It's easy to read in the sense of being clear and well written, with short chapters, but certainly not in the sense of being without substance. I sense that it's a book I will return to time and time again throughout the course of my ministry, when I need to be reminded of the nuggets it contains.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn the first page of the Introduction comes a quote that I know I need to keep front and centre of my mind (from Parker Palmer): 'Self-care is never a selfish act - it is simply good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift I was put on earth to offer to others.'\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI know I have found a book enormously helpful when I highlight something on almost every page - and my copy of Sustaining Leadership is already well thumbed and with many yellow highlights! \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn Part 1, entitled 'Disintegration' Paul outlines his own story in 'Arriving on Planet Fragile'. I read it knowing it could easily have been me or any one of us. He is honest about his own personal and painful experiences, and the devastating impact they had upon him.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn Part 2, 'Reintegration', Paul describes how he began to recover, and gives a wealth of invaluable advice about self care, what healthy and unhealthy patterns of ministry might look like, and how we can find the right balance of all the competing demands and priorities within our lives.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI often say that the thing I find most frustrating about my job as a vicar (which I love almost all of the time), is that it is simply never finished. There is always something more which could or should be done. Paul speaks to this when he writes, 'From where will you get your permission to stop? It will not come from completing a job that has no ending, from receiving affirmation that seldom comes or from a hierarchical permission that rarely exists. Instead, it will have to come from the self-love and self-care of which we have spoken, augmented by obedience to the fourth commandment, which is our permission to rest.' I'm seriously considering getting that tattooed on my person, or at the very least stuck on the door of my study!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePart 3 is called 'Holding on to Hope'. This reminds us of why we ultimately do what we do, and in whose strength we do it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI really enjoyed the way this book is written. It is very practical, and actively encourages the reader to engage with the content rather than just to read the words. Throughout the book there are grey boxes where questions are asked which invite us to pause and reflect.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis book is immensely real and honest, with just the right level of challenge - having gone through such a difficult period in his own life, Paul very much wants to make sure that others don't have to go through the same thing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis book is wonderful and important - a definite must read for anyone involved in any kind of leadership or ministry. The future you will be glad you read this book now!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs Paul says in the Introduction: 'Sustaining Leadership is not a book about what to do as a leader. It is a book about how to be as a leader.'\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReview by Kate Wharton\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLead On - CPAS e-newsletter, January 2019 Review by James Lawrence\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt the start of the year it is good to take stock, to think and pray about the pressure and pace of life and leadership and any adjustments that it might be good to make for the year ahead. If you are planning to do that in any way, may I encourage you to get hold of Sustaining Leadership.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePaul Swann writes from personal experience of having 'four years in the wilderness of total fatigue'. This is an honest book. It recounts his descent into a place of fragility, and the stripping away of many of the things he relied on to bolster his own sense of identity. He reflects that there are 'no words to describe the density of the darkness and the intensity of the isolation.'\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThen follow chapters that helpfully explore the relationship between self-care and self-sacrifice, ways of identifying 'hurry sickness', symptoms of burn out and stress, the place of boundary keeping and Sabbath disciplines. The insights are well illustrated from a wide variety of sources, and contain short perceptive comments that make you think: for example 'margin is the vital space between your load and your limits.' The final chapters on soul food and holding onto hope introduce practical ways to self-compassion.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSustaining Leadership will make a good companion for a Quiet Day or a month of reflecting on yourself through January. Heed its wise insights, and we may find ourselves in a more sustainable place as leaders.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReview by James Lawrence, Director CPAS\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChurch Times, 12 October 2018. Review by Peter Selby, former Bishop of Worcester\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSee beyond the small size of this book to an offering of generosity and wide-ranging wisdom.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIts generosity lies in Paul Swann's writing about his experience of illness without holding much back: he invites us into his experience of chronic fatigue. We are given a graphic, though not over-dramatised, account of the terrible toll that ME took on the author.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEven more significant is the particular distress that burnout brings to a person of great talent and deep commitment, when he reaches the point when he has to say, 'I can't do this any more.' Fragility - to put it mildly - was what he encountered as he 'hit the buffers'; then fragility was what had gradually to be emerged from, and then, as its meaning became clear, to be embraced.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo, the first third of the book is about that experience, although even as we read it we have the sense that faith, though tested, never totally lost its ability to provide perspective and meaning in his suffering. That perspective is the foundation for the wisdom in the next hundred pages: the practical necessity as well as the spiritual importance of self-care, particularly for the most energetic, creative, and committed, who find self-care hardest.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn many sermons, the Pauline image of the clay pot - to which Swann refers a great deal - can remain a general comment about ministerial humility rather than pointing to specific vulnerabilities that need specific remedies and responses. It is because this author gets specific that this book is lifted above well-meaning exhortation to be both challenging and of practical use to those who find it hard in practice to accept the subtitle's message that 'You are more important than your ministry.' The many examples of vulnerability and practical self-care are supported by a wide selection of biblical citation and the wider reading that was, no doubt, part of the author's self-care.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlongside all that is worth while in the book, there remain some questions. Surely, a more artistic and nourishing front-cover design would have portrayed the book more accurately. And isn't the subtitle rather than the title the real message of this book? It is for everyone, not just, or even mainly, 'leaders'? The book is at least partly a critique of what the designation 'leader' engenders.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYet, if this is a book for everyone, it especially challenges those who have oversight of others' ministry. I happen to have been the bishop involved in the author's call to undertake the special challenge of growing and enlivening a church in the centre of Worcester. It is hardly a decision that I can regret, given all the good that has flowed from it. But, since the disintegration and the reintegration that this book describes are also what (in part) flowed from that decision, I found the book a particular challenge.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLooking at my former ministry, I ask myself, in gladly appointing some of our strongest people to the hardest tasks, are we as aware as we need to be of the particular support and resourcing needs that such colleagues have? Or do we just hope that the talented and the committed will find their own way of avoiding burnout? That goes along with a more searching question: how well are we ourselves modelling self-care?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut this gentle author also knows how to use examples that challenge lightly; so if you ever catch yourself not completing the two minutes that your electric toothbrush allows, remember it's not just your teeth that you're not caring for.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReview by t\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003ehe Rt Revd Dr Peter Selby, a former Bishop of Worcester\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview by Revd Canon Steve Coneys, Mission and Growth Advisor, Canterbury Diocese\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat happens when you realise that the work you love is making you sick?\u003cbr\u003eThis gem of a book traces the story of how a capable Christian leader experiences such physical and emotional disintegration that he hears himself saying to his bishop, 'I can't do this any more'.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLucid and concise, Paul Swann's book is an essay in practical spirituality, one that is based on grace rather than our own attempts at self-justifying significance. The central argument is that, with a proper understanding of our belovedness as God's children, and a clear view of God's loving character, we can be freed to care for ourselves and live healthy, grateful lives. How many of us, not just Christian leaders, need to learn this lesson?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt is the way the writer communicates the reality of grace in the midst his own sense of failure and weakness which distinguishes this book: 'One day, as I was struggling with low self-esteem and the battle to recover... I complained to God, 'This is too hard for me to do!' Swiftly and firmly, but with extreme gentleness, came the response: 'Is it too hard to be my son?'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eInsights from films like Wonder Woman, spiritual writers like Margery Kempe, storytellers such as Lewis Carroll and theologians like Walter Breuggemann, combine with Paul Swann's own experience of reintegration to make the book a compelling read. The lesson that every Christian minister - every human being - needs to hear is brought home with elegance and power: you are more important than what you do. Get hold of this book and read it slowly. If I could, I would buy a copy for every church leader I know.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eRevd Canon Steve Coneys, Mission and Growth Advisor, Canterbury Diocese\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview by John Pellowe\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis book is a real challenge to church leaders to take better care of themselves and to more intentionally build up the local church they serve. Paul Swann's story of his descent into illness, burnout, and depression is mercifully short (one chapter) but it is sufficient to help people who have not had a similar experience to understand what it is really like, and how much they are suffering something real. He gave me a real empathy for those who suffered as he did.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI really thought it helpful how he framed his situation - 'fragility' is such a good word! We are all fragile people and need to accept that fragility is part of our human condition. No one is impervious to what this writer experienced. The two chapters on emerging from fragility and embracing fragility are very practical and inspirational. Paul has redeemed his story of recovery in sharing it with others, and much good will come of it, I'm sure.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe rest of the book is full of great ideas to build strength into the people of the Church so that we can better serve those in the world around us who are suffering, as well as protecting ourselves from suffering as Paul did.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen I finished the book, my thought was, 'How much more effective the Church would be if we all caught on to the principles and practices outlined in the book!'\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReview by John Pellowe, CEO Canadian Council of Christian Charities\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview by Timothy Marlow, Business Consultant and IT Director\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the world in which we live, everyone wants to be seen as perfect. We gloss over the failures, claim insight after the event which wasn't there at the time, even post our best selfies on social media. We long to be seen as successful, and to be liked by all.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut what happens when it all goes wrong? When you're made redundant? Or you're broken by the expectations placed on you? Especially if you're supposed to be in Christian ministry?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePaul Swann has helpfully broken this book into small digestible chunks, with loads of practical advice. If you're in pain, or struggling in any way. Even if you're just feeling a little weary or burdened, then you can flick through it and find something which resonates before working out from there.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePaul observes that burnout doesn't suddenly happen. Rather it creeps up on us over time. We all need the advice he gives for maintaining ourselves. Buy this book, read it carefully, then keep it handy so that you can dip into it regularly.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eTimothy Marlow, Business Consultant and IT Director\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview by Steve Chase\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSustaining Leadership is written from the reality of Paul Swann's own personal journey through the difficult challenges of leadership and life. He writes with honesty, great vulnerability and deep self-awareness. Sharing lessons hard learnt in the weakness of his humanity, Paul takes the reader gently into some of the places we so often avoid. He offers proven examples from his own faith journey, along with insights from the lives of those who gone before, that our most authentic identity is found in being loved by God. Paul encourages the discovery of that authentic place of 'being', from which all can learn to love well, live well and lead well! I have already brought 3 copies and passed them on!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSteve Chase\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e"}
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{"id":2439786266724,"title":"Musings of a Clergy Child: Growing into a faith of my own","handle":"musings-of-a-clergy-child-growing-into-a-faith-of-my-own","description":"\u003cp\u003eVicarage life can be exciting, hilarious, scary, surreal and delightful... and that's just one day! Nell Goddard writes honestly and openly about the ins and outs of growing up in a Christian home, from her experience as the daughter of two vicars. With hilarious anecdotes, tough lessons and spiritual reflections from wrestling with faith, this book charts what it's like to live in the goldfish bowl of a vicarage, grow up in the shadow of your parents, lose your faith and find it again. With both rewritten blog posts and brand new material, this collection of tips, letters and musings will appeal not just to clergy children and their parents, but also to teenagers growing up in Christian homes, and to those who want to know what it's like to live a life of ministry you never really asked for.\u003c\/p\u003e\nContents\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eClergy child's lament\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIntroduction\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eTips for clergy children\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBring-and-share lunches are highly unpredictable\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSometimes the smallest offerings have the biggest impact\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePeople will come in and randomly start dismantling your house\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDo not give out your address over the phone\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBoundaries are excellent things\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDon't feel obliged to invite the entire congregation to your birthday party\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eYou will never realise how important your hospitality is until you're on the receiving end of someone else's\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAlways lock the toilet door. A surprising number of people will just barge through closed ones\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTeach your parent to turn off their phone\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMake sure you check out the parish profile before your parent applies for a job\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLearn to accept strange gifts with grace\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eYou are, to all intents and purposes, the vicarage social secretary\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIf someone's coming to stay, make sure you're informed well in advance\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt's OK to grieve\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDon't bother waiting for your parents before leaving church. It's a waste of everyone's time\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThere are certain things you should never tell a caller\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAlways carry ID. You never know when you might need to prove yourself\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eYour love life will be a continual source of parish speculation\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSometimes it's just awful, but God is still good\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eForgive; it changes lives\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLetters\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA letter for the new clergy child\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA letter for clergy parents\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA letter for when the church has hurt you\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA letter for when you feel as if the church has stolen your parents\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA letter for when a friend leaves\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA letter for when you feel inadequate\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMusings\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eComing home\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDancing in the grey\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eConfessions\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChains\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWalking the forgiveness path\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eInterrupted\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTrust and obey\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHide-and-seek\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBe still\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBarefoot\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBattling\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFingertip faith\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePrayer for a friend\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHere is love\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOn being human\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNaked\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOut of the ashes\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAt the feet of Jesus\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHeaven has a climbing frame\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWithout words\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eEndorsements\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePassionate and poignant by turns, very funny one minute and deeply moving the next, Nell Goddard's account of being a 'vicarage child' is above all truthful. Truthful to what it's really like being at the sharp end of clergy life; truthful, especially, to the gospel itself.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e Rt Revd Prof N T Wright, University of St Andrews \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor me, this is what is really enchanting about Musings of a Clergy Child. In 154 pages, Nell, you have given us a living example of how to be simultaneously completely grown up - realistic, candid, hard-hitting - and utterly child-like for God - unfussy, honest, and attentive to the small truths that normally pass us by. As the father of a clergy child, it is a beautiful example for my own little girl; but it's also a beautiful example for me - and for all of us here. Because there is not one of us who is not called to be at once grown up, mature in the faith, and also childlike, transparent before God as a child is in the presence of a parent he or she trusts completely. And Musings of a Clergy Child is brilliant at a practical level - for reminding clergy families up and down the country that they aren't alone in the fact that 'God has not called them to normality', as you so elegantly put it. It's also extremely valuable in that it offers what so little Christian literature bothers to - a vocabulary for lamenting in the face of God's goodness. This book, Anne Atkins says, is 'wonderful and precious'; and Simon Ponsonby tells us it 'will do good to your soul'. They are both right.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e Patrick Gilday, Rector of Benson and Ewelme \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNell Goddard takes the lid off vicarage life and reveals the life of a clergy child to be anything but a sheltered one. With tenderness and insight she describes the rich and rare mix of holy, human experience which shaped her growing-up. Her faith journey so far has been remarkable, painful, joyful, very much her own and shot through with instances of how God and life, in her words, 'intersect in the most beautiful of ways.' ... Everyone should read 'Musings of a Clergy Child' : beautiful.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e Rosemary Lain-Priestley, Archdeacon for the Two Cities \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAuthor info\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNell Goddard studied Theology at Durham University and is now Culture Projects Leader at the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity. Both her parents began training for ordination when she was just six months old. Since then her family have lived all around the country and been part of a spectrum of different ministries, from Oxford college chaplain to academic theologian to vicar of a central London parish. She has an older brother and a chocolate labrador, Bramble. You can find Nell's blog at musingsofaclergychild.com.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eMedia reviews\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview by Imogen Bell\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt the end of a good book I often feel that I know its author. This is particularly true for a book which explores the life of an individual with all its hilarity, brokenness and restoration. With each turn of the page the reader learns more of the writer, so that by the final turn they are well and truly known, even perhaps a friend\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat Nell Goddard achieves remarkably throughout the course of her first book,\u003cem\u003e Musings of a Clergy Child: growing into a faith of my own, \u003c\/em\u003eis the humble skill of knowing the reader. Getting to the end of Goddard's book left me feeling known. Though I am neither a clergy child nor a clergy parent, from the first page I was welcomed as a friend. Through stories, tips, letters and reflections she scripted much of what I too have experienced as a young Christian growing up in a 'Christian family'. I was left encouraged and amazed at Goddard's ability to express these experiences and to share repeated moments of vulnerability with her readers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMusings of a Clergy Child \u003c\/em\u003eis split into (a classically Anglican) three sections. Firstly: Goddard's 'Tips for clergy children'. As an ordinand about to embark on Church of England training, reading the insights of a childhood in a 'gold fish bowl' was a timely warning of the challenges of Christian ministry (whatever that might look like). Especially the challenges placed upon one's own family.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSecondly: Goddard's 'Letters'. Six letters, one to a new clergy child, one to clergy parents and four letters to those with specific situations, hurts and fears. For me, the last was the most important, 'A letter for when you feel inadequate'. Not only for my life, but for many lives of loved ones around me, this letter acknowledges the feeling that 'I am not enough'. It challenges the inadequacy and declares that our Father loves us. This letter is worthy of printing and posting around schools, universities, churches, workplaces, even on street corners. It speaks the gospel into the darkest of doubts. A wonderful declaration of one made 'enough' through Christ.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFinally: Her 'Musings', the 'most obviously theological part' but not out of kilter with the rest. Twenty musings covering multiple questions, barriers and truths in the twisted and winding journey of faith. This section is a resource to be used repeatedly, reflections to be reminded of and situations almost universally experienced. Goddard's willingness to embrace and witness to the big issues of a life with Christ opens spaces for her readers to grow, to be acknowledged and to reflect on their own faith, feelings and struggles.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI have (a similarly Anglican) three reflections on Goddard's work: Vulnerability, Redemption and Transformation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGoddard's book is vulnerable. It speaks of human life, in all its fullness and messiness. It is truthful and open about the doubts, questions and anxieties that the author faced throughout her life. I was struck by Goddard's honesty in her writing, her willingness to be vulnerable with her readers so that she might be known but also so that her readers might feel known, acknowledged, valued and understood. From inadequacy to doubts and deep hurts, Goddard reflects the brokenness of human life in a broken world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut her vulnerability never leaves her readers in a place of despair. Redemption always follows. In each story of challenge, each letter of loss and each musing on a difficult day, joy comes in the morning, light emerges from the darkness, a crown of beauty replaces ashes. God consistently ministers to us in our vulnerabilities and Goddard reminds her readers that He will always meet us, love us and redeem us in our darkest times.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd then there is transformation. Something changes, a challenge and a call to a distinctive life. A life that welcomes, a home that is open, a hand that accepts bizarre presents or an offering plate that appreciates hard boiled sweets. Again and again Goddard exemplifies the transformed life with Christ. She forgives, appreciates, mourns and reminds her readers that our broken lives matter, that we all have the opportunity to reach the unreachable, the occasionally dysfunctional, the overlooked and underrepresented. Not without struggle, but with grace and humility a life is transformed and that transformed life in turn leads to further transformation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is an incredibly honest and profound book, exploring both the comedies and challenging realities of growing up in a vicarage. It is worth reading wherever you grew up as it provides insights into the twists and turns that emerge as one walks the path of faith.\u003cem\u003e Musings of a Clergy Child \u003c\/em\u003egives particular insight to all those considering, training for and living Christian ministry and should be on all kinds of vocational reading lists! Goddard admirably reflects the vulnerability, redemption and transformation that unite humanity and describe the gospel. You will be welcomed from the start and known by the end.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThank you Nell, I wait in anticipation for book number two.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eImogen Bell, Theos\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2024-12-14T16:15:21+00:00","created_at":"2019-01-18T15:22:56+00:00","vendor":"Nell Goddard","type":"Paperback","tags":["Kindle","Leadership","Parenting","Women"],"price":799,"price_min":799,"price_max":799,"available":false,"price_varies":false,"compare_at_price":null,"compare_at_price_min":0,"compare_at_price_max":0,"compare_at_price_varies":false,"variants":[{"id":21769579790436,"title":"Paperback","option1":"Paperback","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"9780857465467","requires_shipping":false,"taxable":false,"featured_image":{"id":7436783059044,"product_id":2439786266724,"position":1,"created_at":"2019-01-18T15:22:56+00:00","updated_at":"2019-02-01T17:45:46+00:00","alt":null,"width":427,"height":650,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857465467-l.jpg?v=1549043146","variant_ids":[21769579790436]},"available":false,"name":"Musings of a Clergy Child: Growing into a faith of my own - Paperback","public_title":"Paperback","options":["Paperback"],"price":799,"weight":183,"compare_at_price":null,"inventory_management":"shopify","barcode":"9780857465467","featured_media":{"alt":null,"id":3238878806155,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":0.657,"height":650,"width":427,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857465467-l.jpg?v=1549043146"}},"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_allocations":[]}],"images":["\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857465467-l.jpg?v=1549043146"],"featured_image":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857465467-l.jpg?v=1549043146","options":["Format"],"media":[{"alt":null,"id":3238878806155,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":0.657,"height":650,"width":427,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857465467-l.jpg?v=1549043146"},"aspect_ratio":0.657,"height":650,"media_type":"image","src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857465467-l.jpg?v=1549043146","width":427}],"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_groups":[],"content":"\u003cp\u003eVicarage life can be exciting, hilarious, scary, surreal and delightful... and that's just one day! Nell Goddard writes honestly and openly about the ins and outs of growing up in a Christian home, from her experience as the daughter of two vicars. With hilarious anecdotes, tough lessons and spiritual reflections from wrestling with faith, this book charts what it's like to live in the goldfish bowl of a vicarage, grow up in the shadow of your parents, lose your faith and find it again. With both rewritten blog posts and brand new material, this collection of tips, letters and musings will appeal not just to clergy children and their parents, but also to teenagers growing up in Christian homes, and to those who want to know what it's like to live a life of ministry you never really asked for.\u003c\/p\u003e\nContents\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eClergy child's lament\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIntroduction\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eTips for clergy children\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBring-and-share lunches are highly unpredictable\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSometimes the smallest offerings have the biggest impact\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePeople will come in and randomly start dismantling your house\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDo not give out your address over the phone\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBoundaries are excellent things\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDon't feel obliged to invite the entire congregation to your birthday party\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eYou will never realise how important your hospitality is until you're on the receiving end of someone else's\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAlways lock the toilet door. A surprising number of people will just barge through closed ones\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTeach your parent to turn off their phone\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMake sure you check out the parish profile before your parent applies for a job\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLearn to accept strange gifts with grace\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eYou are, to all intents and purposes, the vicarage social secretary\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIf someone's coming to stay, make sure you're informed well in advance\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt's OK to grieve\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDon't bother waiting for your parents before leaving church. It's a waste of everyone's time\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThere are certain things you should never tell a caller\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAlways carry ID. You never know when you might need to prove yourself\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eYour love life will be a continual source of parish speculation\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSometimes it's just awful, but God is still good\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eForgive; it changes lives\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLetters\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA letter for the new clergy child\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA letter for clergy parents\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA letter for when the church has hurt you\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA letter for when you feel as if the church has stolen your parents\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA letter for when a friend leaves\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA letter for when you feel inadequate\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMusings\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eComing home\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDancing in the grey\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eConfessions\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChains\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWalking the forgiveness path\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eInterrupted\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTrust and obey\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHide-and-seek\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBe still\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBarefoot\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBattling\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFingertip faith\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePrayer for a friend\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHere is love\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOn being human\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNaked\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOut of the ashes\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAt the feet of Jesus\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHeaven has a climbing frame\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWithout words\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eEndorsements\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePassionate and poignant by turns, very funny one minute and deeply moving the next, Nell Goddard's account of being a 'vicarage child' is above all truthful. Truthful to what it's really like being at the sharp end of clergy life; truthful, especially, to the gospel itself.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e Rt Revd Prof N T Wright, University of St Andrews \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor me, this is what is really enchanting about Musings of a Clergy Child. In 154 pages, Nell, you have given us a living example of how to be simultaneously completely grown up - realistic, candid, hard-hitting - and utterly child-like for God - unfussy, honest, and attentive to the small truths that normally pass us by. As the father of a clergy child, it is a beautiful example for my own little girl; but it's also a beautiful example for me - and for all of us here. Because there is not one of us who is not called to be at once grown up, mature in the faith, and also childlike, transparent before God as a child is in the presence of a parent he or she trusts completely. And Musings of a Clergy Child is brilliant at a practical level - for reminding clergy families up and down the country that they aren't alone in the fact that 'God has not called them to normality', as you so elegantly put it. It's also extremely valuable in that it offers what so little Christian literature bothers to - a vocabulary for lamenting in the face of God's goodness. This book, Anne Atkins says, is 'wonderful and precious'; and Simon Ponsonby tells us it 'will do good to your soul'. They are both right.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e Patrick Gilday, Rector of Benson and Ewelme \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNell Goddard takes the lid off vicarage life and reveals the life of a clergy child to be anything but a sheltered one. With tenderness and insight she describes the rich and rare mix of holy, human experience which shaped her growing-up. Her faith journey so far has been remarkable, painful, joyful, very much her own and shot through with instances of how God and life, in her words, 'intersect in the most beautiful of ways.' ... Everyone should read 'Musings of a Clergy Child' : beautiful.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e Rosemary Lain-Priestley, Archdeacon for the Two Cities \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAuthor info\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNell Goddard studied Theology at Durham University and is now Culture Projects Leader at the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity. Both her parents began training for ordination when she was just six months old. Since then her family have lived all around the country and been part of a spectrum of different ministries, from Oxford college chaplain to academic theologian to vicar of a central London parish. She has an older brother and a chocolate labrador, Bramble. You can find Nell's blog at musingsofaclergychild.com.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eMedia reviews\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview by Imogen Bell\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt the end of a good book I often feel that I know its author. This is particularly true for a book which explores the life of an individual with all its hilarity, brokenness and restoration. With each turn of the page the reader learns more of the writer, so that by the final turn they are well and truly known, even perhaps a friend\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat Nell Goddard achieves remarkably throughout the course of her first book,\u003cem\u003e Musings of a Clergy Child: growing into a faith of my own, \u003c\/em\u003eis the humble skill of knowing the reader. Getting to the end of Goddard's book left me feeling known. Though I am neither a clergy child nor a clergy parent, from the first page I was welcomed as a friend. Through stories, tips, letters and reflections she scripted much of what I too have experienced as a young Christian growing up in a 'Christian family'. I was left encouraged and amazed at Goddard's ability to express these experiences and to share repeated moments of vulnerability with her readers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMusings of a Clergy Child \u003c\/em\u003eis split into (a classically Anglican) three sections. Firstly: Goddard's 'Tips for clergy children'. As an ordinand about to embark on Church of England training, reading the insights of a childhood in a 'gold fish bowl' was a timely warning of the challenges of Christian ministry (whatever that might look like). Especially the challenges placed upon one's own family.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSecondly: Goddard's 'Letters'. Six letters, one to a new clergy child, one to clergy parents and four letters to those with specific situations, hurts and fears. For me, the last was the most important, 'A letter for when you feel inadequate'. Not only for my life, but for many lives of loved ones around me, this letter acknowledges the feeling that 'I am not enough'. It challenges the inadequacy and declares that our Father loves us. This letter is worthy of printing and posting around schools, universities, churches, workplaces, even on street corners. It speaks the gospel into the darkest of doubts. A wonderful declaration of one made 'enough' through Christ.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFinally: Her 'Musings', the 'most obviously theological part' but not out of kilter with the rest. Twenty musings covering multiple questions, barriers and truths in the twisted and winding journey of faith. This section is a resource to be used repeatedly, reflections to be reminded of and situations almost universally experienced. Goddard's willingness to embrace and witness to the big issues of a life with Christ opens spaces for her readers to grow, to be acknowledged and to reflect on their own faith, feelings and struggles.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI have (a similarly Anglican) three reflections on Goddard's work: Vulnerability, Redemption and Transformation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGoddard's book is vulnerable. It speaks of human life, in all its fullness and messiness. It is truthful and open about the doubts, questions and anxieties that the author faced throughout her life. I was struck by Goddard's honesty in her writing, her willingness to be vulnerable with her readers so that she might be known but also so that her readers might feel known, acknowledged, valued and understood. From inadequacy to doubts and deep hurts, Goddard reflects the brokenness of human life in a broken world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut her vulnerability never leaves her readers in a place of despair. Redemption always follows. In each story of challenge, each letter of loss and each musing on a difficult day, joy comes in the morning, light emerges from the darkness, a crown of beauty replaces ashes. God consistently ministers to us in our vulnerabilities and Goddard reminds her readers that He will always meet us, love us and redeem us in our darkest times.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd then there is transformation. Something changes, a challenge and a call to a distinctive life. A life that welcomes, a home that is open, a hand that accepts bizarre presents or an offering plate that appreciates hard boiled sweets. Again and again Goddard exemplifies the transformed life with Christ. She forgives, appreciates, mourns and reminds her readers that our broken lives matter, that we all have the opportunity to reach the unreachable, the occasionally dysfunctional, the overlooked and underrepresented. Not without struggle, but with grace and humility a life is transformed and that transformed life in turn leads to further transformation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is an incredibly honest and profound book, exploring both the comedies and challenging realities of growing up in a vicarage. It is worth reading wherever you grew up as it provides insights into the twists and turns that emerge as one walks the path of faith.\u003cem\u003e Musings of a Clergy Child \u003c\/em\u003egives particular insight to all those considering, training for and living Christian ministry and should be on all kinds of vocational reading lists! Goddard admirably reflects the vulnerability, redemption and transformation that unite humanity and describe the gospel. You will be welcomed from the start and known by the end.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThank you Nell, I wait in anticipation for book number two.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eImogen Bell, Theos\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e"}
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Musings of a Clergy Child: Growing into a faith of my own
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Vicarage life can be exciting, hilarious, scary, surreal and delightful... and that's just one day! Nell Goddard writes honestly and...
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{"id":2439785939044,"title":"Paul and His Friends in Leadership: How they changed the world","handle":"paul-and-his-friends-in-leadership-how-they-changed-the-world","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe more we understand biblical characters like the apostle Paul in their specific situations and in their own time, the more we will be able to apply biblical principles to today's church, its leaders and its mission-transforming and enriching the way we do church today. Paul and His Friends in Leadership examines the apostle Paul's critical relationships with key people, illustrating his humanity, faith, confidence in God and his leadership qualities. This novel approach, by an expert in the New Testament, will encourage us to reflect on leadership in the church today and help us to see how crucial authentic relationships are to our contemporary mission.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003ch3\u003eContents\u003c\/h3\u003e\r\nPreface\u003cbr\u003e\r\nPaul's greatness\u003cbr\u003e\r\nPaul's life: a sketch\u003cbr\u003e\r\nPaul's calling, his mission and his churches\u003cbr\u003e\r\nPaul's mission to Cyprus and Galatia (AD47 - 48)\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cul\u003e\u003cli\u003eBarnabas, missionary leader\u003c\/li\u003e\u003c\/ul\u003e\r\nPaul's mission to the Aegean provinces (AD49 - 57)\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSilvanus, missionary and translator \u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003eTimothy, Paul's leading fellow worker \u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003eLuke, beloved physician and author \u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003ePriscilla and Aquila, merchants \u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003eStephanas, servant of the saints \u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003eGaius, host of the church in Corinth \u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003eApollos, passionate preacher \u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003eErastus, high-ranking city official \u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003eTitus (part 1), Paul's ambassador \u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003eEpaphras, evangelist \u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003ePhilemon, house-church leader \u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003eOnesimus, runaway slave \u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003eJohn Mark, author \u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003eThe Asiarchs of Ephesus, leading citizens\u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003ePhoebe, patroness in Cenchreae \u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003eAristarchus, travel companion \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\r\nPaul's mission in Rome (AD57)\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAndronicus and Junia, Paul's kin \u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003eRufus, 'chosen in the Lord' \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\r\nPaul's last years (AD60 - 65)\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEpaphroditus, carer \u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003eEuodia and Syntyche, fellow workers \u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003eTitus (part 2), evangelist in Crete \u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003eOnesiphorus, earnest friend \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\r\nThe origin of love in the writings of Paul\u003cbr\u003e\r\nThe significance of Paul's mission friends\n\u003ch5\u003eAuthor info\u003c\/h5\u003e\nPaul W. Barnett is a former Bishop of North Sydney, Australia, and lecturer in New Testament at Moore College, Sydney. He is the author of many well-received and influential books on the New Testament. His two interests are Christian ministry and the world of the early church. His passion is to encourage the practice of biblical principles for ministry in today's world.\n\u003ch5\u003eMedia reviews\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Reader, Summer 2018\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eReview by David Sellick\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eBarnett sets out to show that Paul was more of a 'people person' than he is often given credit for and that he offered caring leadership to those with whom he shared mission, so that together 'they changed the world', as the book's subtitle claims. In Acts and Paul's letters about 100 people are named and of these Barnett identifies about forty whom he regards as Paul's key 'mission colleagues'. All named people associated with Paul's missionary work from AD49 to 57 are introduced and discussed in as much detail as the author can amass. We know that Paul often mentions people by name in his letters, but Barnett cross references Acts and the letters to produce a mini-biography of each, thereby illustrating how Paul chose, trained and supported a string of fellow missionaries who so firmly established the emerging Christian church across the eastern Roman Empire to the imperial city itself. This is a fascinating complement to Pauline studies.\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2024-12-14T16:20:10+00:00","created_at":"2019-01-18T15:22:54+00:00","vendor":"Paul W Barnett","type":"Paperback","tags":["Kindle","Leadership","Mission"],"price":799,"price_min":799,"price_max":799,"available":false,"price_varies":false,"compare_at_price":null,"compare_at_price_min":0,"compare_at_price_max":0,"compare_at_price_varies":false,"variants":[{"id":21769567076452,"title":"Paperback","option1":"Paperback","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"9780857465443","requires_shipping":false,"taxable":false,"featured_image":{"id":7436780798052,"product_id":2439785939044,"position":1,"created_at":"2019-01-18T15:22:54+00:00","updated_at":"2019-02-01T17:45:46+00:00","alt":null,"width":427,"height":650,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857465443-l.jpg?v=1549043146","variant_ids":[21769567076452]},"available":false,"name":"Paul and His Friends in Leadership: How they changed the world - Paperback","public_title":"Paperback","options":["Paperback"],"price":799,"weight":182,"compare_at_price":null,"inventory_management":"shopify","barcode":"9780857465443","featured_media":{"alt":null,"id":3238878773387,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":0.657,"height":650,"width":427,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857465443-l.jpg?v=1549043146"}},"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_allocations":[]}],"images":["\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857465443-l.jpg?v=1549043146"],"featured_image":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857465443-l.jpg?v=1549043146","options":["Format"],"media":[{"alt":null,"id":3238878773387,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":0.657,"height":650,"width":427,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857465443-l.jpg?v=1549043146"},"aspect_ratio":0.657,"height":650,"media_type":"image","src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857465443-l.jpg?v=1549043146","width":427}],"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_groups":[],"content":"\u003cp\u003eThe more we understand biblical characters like the apostle Paul in their specific situations and in their own time, the more we will be able to apply biblical principles to today's church, its leaders and its mission-transforming and enriching the way we do church today. Paul and His Friends in Leadership examines the apostle Paul's critical relationships with key people, illustrating his humanity, faith, confidence in God and his leadership qualities. This novel approach, by an expert in the New Testament, will encourage us to reflect on leadership in the church today and help us to see how crucial authentic relationships are to our contemporary mission.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003ch3\u003eContents\u003c\/h3\u003e\r\nPreface\u003cbr\u003e\r\nPaul's greatness\u003cbr\u003e\r\nPaul's life: a sketch\u003cbr\u003e\r\nPaul's calling, his mission and his churches\u003cbr\u003e\r\nPaul's mission to Cyprus and Galatia (AD47 - 48)\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cul\u003e\u003cli\u003eBarnabas, missionary leader\u003c\/li\u003e\u003c\/ul\u003e\r\nPaul's mission to the Aegean provinces (AD49 - 57)\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSilvanus, missionary and translator \u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003eTimothy, Paul's leading fellow worker \u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003eLuke, beloved physician and author \u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003ePriscilla and Aquila, merchants \u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003eStephanas, servant of the saints \u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003eGaius, host of the church in Corinth \u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003eApollos, passionate preacher \u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003eErastus, high-ranking city official \u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003eTitus (part 1), Paul's ambassador \u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003eEpaphras, evangelist \u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003ePhilemon, house-church leader \u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003eOnesimus, runaway slave \u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003eJohn Mark, author \u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003eThe Asiarchs of Ephesus, leading citizens\u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003ePhoebe, patroness in Cenchreae \u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003eAristarchus, travel companion \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\r\nPaul's mission in Rome (AD57)\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAndronicus and Junia, Paul's kin \u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003eRufus, 'chosen in the Lord' \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\r\nPaul's last years (AD60 - 65)\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEpaphroditus, carer \u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003eEuodia and Syntyche, fellow workers \u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003eTitus (part 2), evangelist in Crete \u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003eOnesiphorus, earnest friend \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\r\nThe origin of love in the writings of Paul\u003cbr\u003e\r\nThe significance of Paul's mission friends\n\u003ch5\u003eAuthor info\u003c\/h5\u003e\nPaul W. Barnett is a former Bishop of North Sydney, Australia, and lecturer in New Testament at Moore College, Sydney. He is the author of many well-received and influential books on the New Testament. His two interests are Christian ministry and the world of the early church. His passion is to encourage the practice of biblical principles for ministry in today's world.\n\u003ch5\u003eMedia reviews\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Reader, Summer 2018\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eReview by David Sellick\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eBarnett sets out to show that Paul was more of a 'people person' than he is often given credit for and that he offered caring leadership to those with whom he shared mission, so that together 'they changed the world', as the book's subtitle claims. In Acts and Paul's letters about 100 people are named and of these Barnett identifies about forty whom he regards as Paul's key 'mission colleagues'. All named people associated with Paul's missionary work from AD49 to 57 are introduced and discussed in as much detail as the author can amass. We know that Paul often mentions people by name in his letters, but Barnett cross references Acts and the letters to produce a mini-biography of each, thereby illustrating how Paul chose, trained and supported a string of fellow missionaries who so firmly established the emerging Christian church across the eastern Roman Empire to the imperial city itself. This is a fascinating complement to Pauline studies.\u003c\/p\u003e"}
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Paul and His Friends in Leadership: How they changed the world
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The more we understand biblical characters like the apostle Paul in their specific situations and in their own time, the...
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{"id":2439772897380,"title":"God's Belongers: How people engage with God today and how the church can help","handle":"gods-belongers-how-people-engage-with-god-today-and-how-the-church-can-help","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis book transforms thinking about church membership by replacing the division between 'members' and 'non-members' with a four-fold model of belonging. Based in extensive practical research, David Walker shows how 'belonging' can encompass a far wider group of people than those who attend weekly services. He examines belonging through relationship, through place and through events, as well as the traditional belonging through activities. He goes on to explore the opportunities for mission that emerge as a result - while also acknowledging the challenges posed for issues such as church financing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eContents\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIntroduction: an aid for mission\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003ePart 1: How we belong\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e1 Belonging: a theological concept\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e2 Reliably regular: belonging through church activities\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e3 People power: belonging through relationships\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e4 Only the once: belonging through events\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e5 Location, location: belonging through place\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e6 The mystery of the missing vicar: an example of belonging\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003ePart 2: Belonging for mission\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e7 What's the difference? Understanding occasional churchgoers\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e8 Together in mission: the Five Marks of Mission\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e9 Paying the piper: what has become of Anglican governance and finance?\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003ePart 3: Who else is missing?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e10 Types and temperaments: what is Psychological Type?\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e11 Models for motivation: exploring the world of Religious Orientation\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e12 Never on Sunday: the opportunities and challenges of Sunday worship\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eForeword\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhenever the church gets to talking about numbers, sooner or later someone will protest that it is not all about bums on seats, is it? Well, yes and no. As this readable and insightful book from David Walker makes clear, belonging cannot simply be measured by your attendance record. There are multiple ways of belonging to any organisation or community, and especially the church. But if instead of 'bums on seats' the church talked about 'hearts being changed' or 'lives being transformed', and once we realise that there can be no impact in our local communities and wider society unless there are at least some people who not only belong, but whose belonging shapes and directs the whole of their lives, i.e. their hearts are being changed and their lives are being transformed, then we begin to see that understanding how people belong and ministering to people in their different ways of belonging is something worth thinking about. This book will help you.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eThe Rt Revd Stephen Cottrell\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAuthor info\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\" data-mce-style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0148\/6107\/4532\/files\/BishopDavidWalker_480x480.jpg?v=1676497548\" alt=\"\" style=\"margin-right: 10px; float: left;\" width=\"219\" height=\"269\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\" data-mce-style=\"margin-right: 10px; float: left;\" data-mce-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0148\/6107\/4532\/files\/BishopDavidWalker_480x480.jpg?v=1676497548\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\nAfter a Maths degree at Cambridge, David Walker trained in theology in Birmingham. He served in churches in the dioceses of Sheffield before becoming Bishop of Dudley in 2000 and then in 2013 Bishop of Manchester. He is involved in writing a continuing series of papers for peer review journals and the International Society of Empirical Research in Theology, using quantitative methods to analyse aspects of rural Anglicanism. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a member of the Rural Theology Association, the Church of England Ministry Council and one of the Church Commissioners for England. He has contributed chapters to a number of books including Changing Rural Life: A Christian response to key rural issues (Canterbury Press, 2004), Rural Life and Rural Church: theological and empirical perspectives (Equinox, 2012), Exploring Ordinary Theology: everyday Christian believing and the Church (Ashgate, 2013). He has written papers for (amongst other journals) Rural Theology, the Journal of Beliefs \u0026amp; Values and the Journal of Anglican Studies. In 2014 he was awarded a PhD from the University of Warwick for the studies on which this book will be based.\n\u003ch5\u003eMedia reviews\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChurch Times 21.7.17\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReview by Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Chelmsford of \u003cem\u003eGod's Belongers: How people engage with God today and how the Church can help\u003c\/em\u003e by David Walker and \u003cem\u003eReproducing Churches \u003c\/em\u003eby George Lings\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOnce in a while, a book comes along that changes the way you look at things. Here are two.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDavid Walker's delightfully titled \u003cem\u003eGod's Belongers\u003c\/em\u003e analyses the different ways in which people express their belonging to church and their engagement with God, and suggests new strategies that will help the local church understand and provide for this belonging.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBased on extensive research of church attendance at rural harvest festivals and Christmas carol services, the central thesis of this book is that regular churchgoing is not the only way in which Christian belonging is expressed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn one level, this is completely obvious. Most churches, however, persist with a gold standard of 'every-Sunday-morning' belonging, and all evangelistic endeavour is geared towards achieving this. But, as Walker's well-researched and well-argued book unfolds, we find that belonging can be measured in other ways, and this is more to do with personality and circumstance than commitment.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo, the one who comes less often is not necessarily less committed. Someone whose primary belonging comes through relationships, and who wishes to express this in service, may never come every week. But his or her 'lived-out' discipleship, day by day, demonstrates a commitment equal to any weekly communicant. If weekly attendance is the only goal, this person's faith development may be stymied, and the church's ability and flexibility to grow in different ways diminished.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePut this alongside the vastly changed pattern of work, leisure, and family life in Britain today, and the impact on church life is plain to see. Strategies for evangelism and discipleship need to work with the grain of these different types of belonging, not against them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe development of Fresh Expressions in the Church of England is one such example of helping people to belong differently.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFresh Expressions of Church is not a stepping-stone towards the so-called 'real church' of Sunday morning. Worshipping in a variety of cultural styles, meeting in different places and different formats and at different times, Fresh Expressions have enabled the Church to broaden its reach.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis has been a remarkable story of missional and ecclesiological enterprise, and, although many people have played a significant part in this story, none has done more than George Lings. His ministry as theologian, researcher and church-planter has provided the impetus and inspiration for the Church to try new things. He has also led the way in enabling the Church to reflect on and learn from these experiments.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll this is brought together in \u003cem\u003eReproducing Churches\u003c\/em\u003e. Lings explains and develops the basic thesis that reproduction is inherent in what it means to be the Church, not merely an optional function that some may choose. In other words, for the Church to be the Church it must reproduce. Based, again, on extensive research and vast experience, this book is probably the best available handbook for understanding church-planting and Fresh Expressions, and seeing how the Church can become what it is meant to be be. Put these two books together, and every church will be rethinking its evangelistic strategy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReview by the Rt Revd Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Chelmsford\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eArthur Rank Centre Resources. Review by Revd Elizabeth Clark, National Rural Officer for the Methodist and United Reformed Churches\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn this challenging book David Walker, Bishop of Manchester, argues that people belong to their community and to church in different ways. Some belong through activities and are often regular churchgoers and office holders in the church, the sort of person everyone knows and likes. This person helps others to relate to God.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 'God's Belongers' these ways of belonging are offered as a framework within which we might consider how to shape and focus the mission of the church beyond 'people like us.' So often mission is based around the things that those already in the church are comfortable with. Walker challenges us to look at how we can do things differently so that other ways of belonging can be welcomed and accommodated, and people can grow in faith.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn short, this book encourages us to look seriously at those not like us so that we can welcome them. It also challenges us to learn from others because 'the evidence we've found of a rich and complex pattern of belonging challenges the often implicit assumption that occasional church goers are 'nominal' Christians'.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile 'God's Belongers' inevitably reflects Bishop David's Anglican perspective, his insights are more widely applicable are easy to translate for other denominational contexts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReview by Elizabeth Clark, National Rural Officer for the Methodist and United Reformed Churches\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Reader (Spring 2018). Review by Janice Price\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is an important research based examination of how people belong to church. Based on two surveys taken in 2007 and 2009 in the Dioceses of Worcester and Lichfield, Walker outlines four ways - through people, places, one-off events and regular activities - that people belong to the Church. The samples were taken at rural harvest services and Christmas carol services and show information about the attitudes or regular churchgoers to those who attend occasionally. Walker argues that people, places or one-off events are co-workers with regular attendees and not objects of mission. He also asks whether it is possible to be a good Christian and not go to church very often. 'God's Belongers' is full of important questions and issues for PCCs, ministry teams and others to consider. It challenges stereotypes of the 'not-often-there' church attendees and deserves wide and careful consideration.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReview by Janice Price\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2019-01-18T15:21:59+00:00","created_at":"2019-01-18T15:22:01+00:00","vendor":"David Walker","type":"Paperback","tags":["Church life","Kindle","Leadership","Mission","Torch Trust"],"price":799,"price_min":799,"price_max":799,"available":true,"price_varies":false,"compare_at_price":null,"compare_at_price_min":0,"compare_at_price_max":0,"compare_at_price_varies":false,"variants":[{"id":21769369256036,"title":"Paperback","option1":"Paperback","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"9780857464675","requires_shipping":true,"taxable":false,"featured_image":{"id":7436693766244,"product_id":2439772897380,"position":1,"created_at":"2019-01-18T15:22:01+00:00","updated_at":"2019-02-01T17:45:57+00:00","alt":null,"width":427,"height":650,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857464675-l.jpg?v=1549043157","variant_ids":[21769369256036]},"available":true,"name":"God's Belongers: How people engage with God today and how the church can help - Paperback","public_title":"Paperback","options":["Paperback"],"price":799,"weight":180,"compare_at_price":null,"inventory_management":"shopify","barcode":"9780857464675","featured_media":{"alt":null,"id":3238877495435,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":0.657,"height":650,"width":427,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857464675-l.jpg?v=1549043157"}},"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_allocations":[]}],"images":["\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857464675-l.jpg?v=1549043157","\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/files\/59_d53f0ad3-f934-490f-84ef-26363311753e.png?v=1734095680"],"featured_image":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857464675-l.jpg?v=1549043157","options":["Format"],"media":[{"alt":null,"id":3238877495435,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":0.657,"height":650,"width":427,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857464675-l.jpg?v=1549043157"},"aspect_ratio":0.657,"height":650,"media_type":"image","src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857464675-l.jpg?v=1549043157","width":427},{"alt":null,"id":63560964866428,"position":2,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":0.652,"height":2000,"width":1303,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/files\/59_d53f0ad3-f934-490f-84ef-26363311753e.png?v=1734095680"},"aspect_ratio":0.652,"height":2000,"media_type":"image","src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/files\/59_d53f0ad3-f934-490f-84ef-26363311753e.png?v=1734095680","width":1303}],"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_groups":[],"content":"\u003cp\u003eThis book transforms thinking about church membership by replacing the division between 'members' and 'non-members' with a four-fold model of belonging. Based in extensive practical research, David Walker shows how 'belonging' can encompass a far wider group of people than those who attend weekly services. He examines belonging through relationship, through place and through events, as well as the traditional belonging through activities. He goes on to explore the opportunities for mission that emerge as a result - while also acknowledging the challenges posed for issues such as church financing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eContents\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIntroduction: an aid for mission\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003ePart 1: How we belong\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e1 Belonging: a theological concept\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e2 Reliably regular: belonging through church activities\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e3 People power: belonging through relationships\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e4 Only the once: belonging through events\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e5 Location, location: belonging through place\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e6 The mystery of the missing vicar: an example of belonging\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003ePart 2: Belonging for mission\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e7 What's the difference? Understanding occasional churchgoers\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e8 Together in mission: the Five Marks of Mission\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e9 Paying the piper: what has become of Anglican governance and finance?\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003ePart 3: Who else is missing?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e10 Types and temperaments: what is Psychological Type?\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e11 Models for motivation: exploring the world of Religious Orientation\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e12 Never on Sunday: the opportunities and challenges of Sunday worship\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eForeword\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhenever the church gets to talking about numbers, sooner or later someone will protest that it is not all about bums on seats, is it? Well, yes and no. As this readable and insightful book from David Walker makes clear, belonging cannot simply be measured by your attendance record. There are multiple ways of belonging to any organisation or community, and especially the church. But if instead of 'bums on seats' the church talked about 'hearts being changed' or 'lives being transformed', and once we realise that there can be no impact in our local communities and wider society unless there are at least some people who not only belong, but whose belonging shapes and directs the whole of their lives, i.e. their hearts are being changed and their lives are being transformed, then we begin to see that understanding how people belong and ministering to people in their different ways of belonging is something worth thinking about. This book will help you.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eThe Rt Revd Stephen Cottrell\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAuthor info\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\" data-mce-style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0148\/6107\/4532\/files\/BishopDavidWalker_480x480.jpg?v=1676497548\" alt=\"\" style=\"margin-right: 10px; float: left;\" width=\"219\" height=\"269\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\" data-mce-style=\"margin-right: 10px; float: left;\" data-mce-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0148\/6107\/4532\/files\/BishopDavidWalker_480x480.jpg?v=1676497548\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\nAfter a Maths degree at Cambridge, David Walker trained in theology in Birmingham. He served in churches in the dioceses of Sheffield before becoming Bishop of Dudley in 2000 and then in 2013 Bishop of Manchester. He is involved in writing a continuing series of papers for peer review journals and the International Society of Empirical Research in Theology, using quantitative methods to analyse aspects of rural Anglicanism. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a member of the Rural Theology Association, the Church of England Ministry Council and one of the Church Commissioners for England. He has contributed chapters to a number of books including Changing Rural Life: A Christian response to key rural issues (Canterbury Press, 2004), Rural Life and Rural Church: theological and empirical perspectives (Equinox, 2012), Exploring Ordinary Theology: everyday Christian believing and the Church (Ashgate, 2013). He has written papers for (amongst other journals) Rural Theology, the Journal of Beliefs \u0026amp; Values and the Journal of Anglican Studies. In 2014 he was awarded a PhD from the University of Warwick for the studies on which this book will be based.\n\u003ch5\u003eMedia reviews\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChurch Times 21.7.17\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReview by Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Chelmsford of \u003cem\u003eGod's Belongers: How people engage with God today and how the Church can help\u003c\/em\u003e by David Walker and \u003cem\u003eReproducing Churches \u003c\/em\u003eby George Lings\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOnce in a while, a book comes along that changes the way you look at things. Here are two.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDavid Walker's delightfully titled \u003cem\u003eGod's Belongers\u003c\/em\u003e analyses the different ways in which people express their belonging to church and their engagement with God, and suggests new strategies that will help the local church understand and provide for this belonging.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBased on extensive research of church attendance at rural harvest festivals and Christmas carol services, the central thesis of this book is that regular churchgoing is not the only way in which Christian belonging is expressed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn one level, this is completely obvious. Most churches, however, persist with a gold standard of 'every-Sunday-morning' belonging, and all evangelistic endeavour is geared towards achieving this. But, as Walker's well-researched and well-argued book unfolds, we find that belonging can be measured in other ways, and this is more to do with personality and circumstance than commitment.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo, the one who comes less often is not necessarily less committed. Someone whose primary belonging comes through relationships, and who wishes to express this in service, may never come every week. But his or her 'lived-out' discipleship, day by day, demonstrates a commitment equal to any weekly communicant. If weekly attendance is the only goal, this person's faith development may be stymied, and the church's ability and flexibility to grow in different ways diminished.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePut this alongside the vastly changed pattern of work, leisure, and family life in Britain today, and the impact on church life is plain to see. Strategies for evangelism and discipleship need to work with the grain of these different types of belonging, not against them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe development of Fresh Expressions in the Church of England is one such example of helping people to belong differently.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFresh Expressions of Church is not a stepping-stone towards the so-called 'real church' of Sunday morning. Worshipping in a variety of cultural styles, meeting in different places and different formats and at different times, Fresh Expressions have enabled the Church to broaden its reach.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis has been a remarkable story of missional and ecclesiological enterprise, and, although many people have played a significant part in this story, none has done more than George Lings. His ministry as theologian, researcher and church-planter has provided the impetus and inspiration for the Church to try new things. He has also led the way in enabling the Church to reflect on and learn from these experiments.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll this is brought together in \u003cem\u003eReproducing Churches\u003c\/em\u003e. Lings explains and develops the basic thesis that reproduction is inherent in what it means to be the Church, not merely an optional function that some may choose. In other words, for the Church to be the Church it must reproduce. Based, again, on extensive research and vast experience, this book is probably the best available handbook for understanding church-planting and Fresh Expressions, and seeing how the Church can become what it is meant to be be. Put these two books together, and every church will be rethinking its evangelistic strategy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReview by the Rt Revd Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Chelmsford\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eArthur Rank Centre Resources. Review by Revd Elizabeth Clark, National Rural Officer for the Methodist and United Reformed Churches\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn this challenging book David Walker, Bishop of Manchester, argues that people belong to their community and to church in different ways. Some belong through activities and are often regular churchgoers and office holders in the church, the sort of person everyone knows and likes. This person helps others to relate to God.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 'God's Belongers' these ways of belonging are offered as a framework within which we might consider how to shape and focus the mission of the church beyond 'people like us.' So often mission is based around the things that those already in the church are comfortable with. Walker challenges us to look at how we can do things differently so that other ways of belonging can be welcomed and accommodated, and people can grow in faith.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn short, this book encourages us to look seriously at those not like us so that we can welcome them. It also challenges us to learn from others because 'the evidence we've found of a rich and complex pattern of belonging challenges the often implicit assumption that occasional church goers are 'nominal' Christians'.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile 'God's Belongers' inevitably reflects Bishop David's Anglican perspective, his insights are more widely applicable are easy to translate for other denominational contexts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReview by Elizabeth Clark, National Rural Officer for the Methodist and United Reformed Churches\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Reader (Spring 2018). Review by Janice Price\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is an important research based examination of how people belong to church. Based on two surveys taken in 2007 and 2009 in the Dioceses of Worcester and Lichfield, Walker outlines four ways - through people, places, one-off events and regular activities - that people belong to the Church. The samples were taken at rural harvest services and Christmas carol services and show information about the attitudes or regular churchgoers to those who attend occasionally. Walker argues that people, places or one-off events are co-workers with regular attendees and not objects of mission. He also asks whether it is possible to be a good Christian and not go to church very often. 'God's Belongers' is full of important questions and issues for PCCs, ministry teams and others to consider. It challenges stereotypes of the 'not-often-there' church attendees and deserves wide and careful consideration.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReview by Janice Price\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e"}
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God's Belongers: How people engage with God today and how the church can help
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This book transforms thinking about church membership by replacing the division between 'members' and 'non-members' with a four-fold model of...
{"id":2439772504164,"title":"Reproducing Churches","handle":"reproducing-churches","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis book investigates the theological basis for church planting and creating fresh expressions of church. Based on extensive research, senior church planting authority George Lings argues that the church has a divine calling and capacity to reproduce, albeit in ways that are intentionally non-identical. Using the doctrine of the Trinity, as well as key passages throughout scripture, he shows how such reproduction fulfills the mission of God. The book also includes many practical examples drawn from church history, to help apply the message to congregations today.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003ch2\u003eContents\u003c\/h2\u003e\r\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIntroduction: why this book?\u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e1 Different lenses, different views of the Church\u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e2 Creation and covenant's mandate to reproduce\u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e3 The reproductive strand in the kingdom and the Gospels\u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e4 The Trinity and the Church seen as community-in-mission\u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e5 Looking to Jesus the pioneer\u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e6 Following Jesus in dying to live\u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e7 The Holy Spirit and the surprises in reproduction\u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e8 Christendom's eclipse of a reproducing Church\u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e9 Reproduction and the classic 'four marks' of the Church\u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e10 The useful outworking of the reproductive strand\u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e11 Rehabilitating the Church\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAuthor info\u003c\/h5\u003e\nGeorge Lings heads up Church Army's Research Unit, which for 20 years has been at work discerning the evolving mission of the church and the resultant fresh expressions of church. He has written over 50 booklets on the evolving theory and practice of bringing to birth fresh expressions of church, through the Encounters On The Edge series, which had an international subscription base of 500. Moreover the content of his book proposal has been peer-tested for academic rigour for it rests upon the findings of a recent PhD.\n\u003ch5\u003eMedia reviews\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChurch Times 21.7.17\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReview by Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Chelmsford of \u003cem\u003eGod's Belongers: How people engage with God today and how the Church can help\u003c\/em\u003e by David Walker and \u003cem\u003eReproducing Churches \u003c\/em\u003eby George Lings\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eOnce in a while, a book comes along that changes the way you look at things. Here are two.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eDavid Walker's delightfully titled \u003cem\u003eGod's Belongers\u003c\/em\u003e analyses the different ways in which people express their belonging to church and their engagement with God, and suggests new strategies that will help the local church understand and provide for this belonging.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eBased on extensive research of church attendance at rural harvest festivals and Christmas carol services, the central thesis of this book is that regular churchgoing is not the only way in which Christian belonging is expressed.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eOn one level, this is completely obvious. Most churches, however, persist with a gold standard of 'every-Sunday-morning' belonging, and all evangelistic endeavour is geared towards achieving this. But, as Walker's well-researched and well-argued book unfolds, we find that belonging can be measured in other ways, and this is more to do with personality and circumstance than commitment.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eSo, the one who comes less often is not necessarily less committed. Someone whose primary belonging comes through relationships, and who wishes to express this in service, may never come every week. But his or her 'lived-out' discipleship, day by day, demonstrates a commitment equal to any weekly communicant. If weekly attendance is the only goal, this person's faith development may be stymied, and the church's ability and flexibility to grow in different ways diminished.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003ePut this alongside the vastly changed pattern of work, leisure, and family life in Britain today, and the impact on church life is plain to see. Strategies for evangelism and discipleship need to work with the grain of these different types of belonging, not against them.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe development of Fresh Expressions in the Church of England is one such example of helping people to belong differently.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eFresh Expressions of Church is not a stepping-stone towards the so-called 'real church' of Sunday morning. Worshipping in a variety of cultural styles, meeting in different places and different formats and at different times, Fresh Expressions have enabled the Church to broaden its reach.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThis has been a remarkable story of missional and ecclesiological enterprise, and, although many people have played a significant part in this story, none has done more than George Lings. His ministry as theologian, researcher and church-planter has provided the impetus and inspiration for the Church to try new things. He has also led the way in enabling the Church to reflect on and learn from these experiments.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAll this is brought together in \u003cem\u003eReproducing Churches\u003c\/em\u003e. Lings explains and develops the basic thesis that reproduction is inherent in what it means to be the Church, not merely an optional function that some may choose. In other words, for the Church to be the Church it must reproduce. Based, again, on extensive research and vast experience, this book is probably the best available handbook for understanding church-planting and Fresh Expressions, and seeing how the Church can become what it is meant to be be. Put these two books together, and every church will be rethinking its evangelistic strategy.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Rt Revd Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Chelmsford\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2024-12-14T16:26:28+00:00","created_at":"2019-01-18T15:21:59+00:00","vendor":"George Lings","type":"Paperback","tags":["Kindle","Leadership","Mission"],"price":999,"price_min":999,"price_max":999,"available":false,"price_varies":false,"compare_at_price":null,"compare_at_price_min":0,"compare_at_price_max":0,"compare_at_price_varies":false,"variants":[{"id":21769363980388,"title":"Paperback","option1":"Paperback","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"9780857464644","requires_shipping":false,"taxable":false,"featured_image":{"id":7436691406948,"product_id":2439772504164,"position":1,"created_at":"2019-01-18T15:21:59+00:00","updated_at":"2019-02-01T17:45:58+00:00","alt":null,"width":427,"height":650,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857464644-l.jpg?v=1549043158","variant_ids":[21769363980388]},"available":false,"name":"Reproducing Churches - Paperback","public_title":"Paperback","options":["Paperback"],"price":999,"weight":263,"compare_at_price":null,"inventory_management":"shopify","barcode":"9780857464644","featured_media":{"alt":null,"id":3238877462667,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":0.657,"height":650,"width":427,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857464644-l.jpg?v=1549043158"}},"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_allocations":[]}],"images":["\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857464644-l.jpg?v=1549043158"],"featured_image":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857464644-l.jpg?v=1549043158","options":["Format"],"media":[{"alt":null,"id":3238877462667,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":0.657,"height":650,"width":427,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857464644-l.jpg?v=1549043158"},"aspect_ratio":0.657,"height":650,"media_type":"image","src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857464644-l.jpg?v=1549043158","width":427}],"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_groups":[],"content":"\u003cp\u003eThis book investigates the theological basis for church planting and creating fresh expressions of church. Based on extensive research, senior church planting authority George Lings argues that the church has a divine calling and capacity to reproduce, albeit in ways that are intentionally non-identical. Using the doctrine of the Trinity, as well as key passages throughout scripture, he shows how such reproduction fulfills the mission of God. The book also includes many practical examples drawn from church history, to help apply the message to congregations today.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003ch2\u003eContents\u003c\/h2\u003e\r\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIntroduction: why this book?\u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e1 Different lenses, different views of the Church\u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e2 Creation and covenant's mandate to reproduce\u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e3 The reproductive strand in the kingdom and the Gospels\u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e4 The Trinity and the Church seen as community-in-mission\u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e5 Looking to Jesus the pioneer\u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e6 Following Jesus in dying to live\u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e7 The Holy Spirit and the surprises in reproduction\u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e8 Christendom's eclipse of a reproducing Church\u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e9 Reproduction and the classic 'four marks' of the Church\u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e10 The useful outworking of the reproductive strand\u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e11 Rehabilitating the Church\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAuthor info\u003c\/h5\u003e\nGeorge Lings heads up Church Army's Research Unit, which for 20 years has been at work discerning the evolving mission of the church and the resultant fresh expressions of church. He has written over 50 booklets on the evolving theory and practice of bringing to birth fresh expressions of church, through the Encounters On The Edge series, which had an international subscription base of 500. Moreover the content of his book proposal has been peer-tested for academic rigour for it rests upon the findings of a recent PhD.\n\u003ch5\u003eMedia reviews\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChurch Times 21.7.17\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReview by Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Chelmsford of \u003cem\u003eGod's Belongers: How people engage with God today and how the Church can help\u003c\/em\u003e by David Walker and \u003cem\u003eReproducing Churches \u003c\/em\u003eby George Lings\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eOnce in a while, a book comes along that changes the way you look at things. Here are two.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eDavid Walker's delightfully titled \u003cem\u003eGod's Belongers\u003c\/em\u003e analyses the different ways in which people express their belonging to church and their engagement with God, and suggests new strategies that will help the local church understand and provide for this belonging.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eBased on extensive research of church attendance at rural harvest festivals and Christmas carol services, the central thesis of this book is that regular churchgoing is not the only way in which Christian belonging is expressed.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eOn one level, this is completely obvious. Most churches, however, persist with a gold standard of 'every-Sunday-morning' belonging, and all evangelistic endeavour is geared towards achieving this. But, as Walker's well-researched and well-argued book unfolds, we find that belonging can be measured in other ways, and this is more to do with personality and circumstance than commitment.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eSo, the one who comes less often is not necessarily less committed. Someone whose primary belonging comes through relationships, and who wishes to express this in service, may never come every week. But his or her 'lived-out' discipleship, day by day, demonstrates a commitment equal to any weekly communicant. If weekly attendance is the only goal, this person's faith development may be stymied, and the church's ability and flexibility to grow in different ways diminished.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003ePut this alongside the vastly changed pattern of work, leisure, and family life in Britain today, and the impact on church life is plain to see. Strategies for evangelism and discipleship need to work with the grain of these different types of belonging, not against them.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe development of Fresh Expressions in the Church of England is one such example of helping people to belong differently.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eFresh Expressions of Church is not a stepping-stone towards the so-called 'real church' of Sunday morning. Worshipping in a variety of cultural styles, meeting in different places and different formats and at different times, Fresh Expressions have enabled the Church to broaden its reach.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThis has been a remarkable story of missional and ecclesiological enterprise, and, although many people have played a significant part in this story, none has done more than George Lings. His ministry as theologian, researcher and church-planter has provided the impetus and inspiration for the Church to try new things. He has also led the way in enabling the Church to reflect on and learn from these experiments.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAll this is brought together in \u003cem\u003eReproducing Churches\u003c\/em\u003e. Lings explains and develops the basic thesis that reproduction is inherent in what it means to be the Church, not merely an optional function that some may choose. In other words, for the Church to be the Church it must reproduce. Based, again, on extensive research and vast experience, this book is probably the best available handbook for understanding church-planting and Fresh Expressions, and seeing how the Church can become what it is meant to be be. Put these two books together, and every church will be rethinking its evangelistic strategy.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Rt Revd Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Chelmsford\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e"}
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This book investigates the theological basis for church planting and creating fresh expressions of church. Based on extensive research, senior...
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{"id":2439761035364,"title":"The Contemplative Minister: Learning to lead from the still centre","handle":"the-contemplative-minister-learning-to-lead-from-the-still-centre","description":"\u003cp\u003eEugene Peterson's bestselling book \u003cstrong\u003eThe Contemplative Pastor\u003c\/strong\u003e has helped many church leaders to keep a strong spiritual centre to ministry as they are engulfed by the busyness of church life.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe church landscape has now moved on considerably since Peterson's book was published 20 years ago, both in the USA and the UK. Electronic media, multi-parish appointments and the ever increasing stress and demands of modern-day ministry have continued to challenge church leaders aggressively. Today, many are looking for a different way of being in ministry, a better way of serving Christ than the relentless busyness and pressure that have become the norm. But how?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIan Cowley, Coordinator of Vocations and Spirituality in Salisbury Diocese, offers direction for contemplative leaders in the 21st century, drawing on his South African roots and the influence of contemplative leaders such as Desmond Tutu. He explains practically how to prioritise a relationship with God and lead others into that relationship, creating a shared ministry to allow the leader to nurture faith and spirituality amid the hectic life that is ministry today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eEndorsements\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis book is concerned with the central vocation of those who are called to the ordained ministry. As priests, we are called to be people in whom others may see God. There is a great hunger for God among many people today. This is a hunger which is not just for things about God, for sermons, books, talks and videos, but for God himself. A contemplative minister is someone who is called first of all to God and to his heart of love, so that the world may also know God and his love for all that he has made.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eArchbishop Desmond Tutu\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAuthor info\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIan Cowley is Vocations and Spirituality Coordinator for the Diocese of Salisbury and since 2010 has led and developed The Contemplative Minister programme in the Diocese, which has been greatly appreciated by many clergy. He has also written The Transformation Principle (2002), Going Empty Handed (1996) and A People of Hope (1993). He has been a parish priest in Natal, South Africa, and also in Cambridge and Peterborough.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo read Ian's lockdown blog, 'Wild times and the love of God', click \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/blogs\/collections\/wild-times-and-the-love-of-god\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eMedia reviews\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Wycliffite issue no 1, Review of reprint (2016)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere was a time when Christian ministry offered the opportunity to spend your life in the study of God's word, in reading and reflection, in prayer and sermon preparation and in the quiet and faithful pastoral care of a community. The world has changed, and with it most of the expectations that govern church appointments. These days there are very few jobs in full time ministry which do not require a heroic combination of stamina, multi-tasking and change management. This book gives practical advice on how to nurture faith and a sense of calling amid the hectic life that is ministry today. Drawing on his experience of developing and leading training programmes in this area, Ian Cowley assesses the stresses and pressures of the job and shows how to grow into being a 'contemplative minister', prioritising a relationship of deepening love with God. He also offers guidance on leading others into that same relationship, without your own spiritual life running dry.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReview in \u003cstrong\u003eLead-on \u003c\/strong\u003eJanuary 2018\u003cbr\u003e 'Those who work without prayer - no matter how good the work, no matter how sincere the minister - soon dry up inside.' (John Chittiter) \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The Contemplative Minister aims to help us avoid this scenario. It is a good introduction to how to remain prayerful and rooted in Christ in the ups and downs of public leadership, or a good reminder for those who have read around this topic before.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e In seven parts it covers vocation, contemplative ministry, prayer, rooted in Jesus, letting go, contemplative living, and becoming a contemplative church. Throughout Cowley refers to a wide body of material and offers practical insights into how to shape a contemplative life. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The chapters on rules and exercises and on spiritual formation are particularly helpful. Cowley outlines eight spiritual disciplines that he has found are core to the contemplative life, including detachment, attentiveness, gratitude and servanthood. For example, he encourages us to use the opportunities daily life affords to learn detachment: when stuck in a traffic jam, when a train is delayed, when we become ill at an inconvenient time, etc. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e For Cowley 'spiritual formation means being formed into the likeness of Jesus for the sake of others.' This book certainly helps with that process. My guess is that it will be even more helpful if we study it with others and gain some accountability for putting into practice some of the helpful ideas it contains. \u003cstrong\u003eLead-on\u003c\/strong\u003e is the monthly newsletter of the CPAS \u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/cpas.us8.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=9c4386d25a49e13c1e4be3e09\u0026amp;id=cd0c8513e9\u0026amp;e=2ba37f7c1e\"\u003ewww.cpas.org.uk\/leadon\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Church Times - 4 November 2016\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThough saved by grace, we act as if we are saved by works, busily ministering in a hyperactive Church and hectic world. Ian Cowley's counter-cultural book presents a heady foil to frenetic activity, questioning the need for it, seeing being contemplative as non-negotiable, even seeking it when busyness just cannot be avoided.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn his bracing foreword, Desmond Tutu urges us simply to accept that we are accepted. Quoting Evelyn Underhill, 'Christ was trained in a carpenter's shop, but we persist in preferring a confectioner's shop,' Tutu fears that frantic activity is both a distraction and avoidance of faith's core demands - whereas being assured of God's love fires you to truckle to no man, and even face martyrdom.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCowley presents an immensely readable tour de force through vocation; several methods of prayer; being rooted in Jesus; and letting go to enable our ministry, living and Church to be grounded in contem plation. Priests are called both to be and to do, finding what is life-giving and doing it; but also, by their sheer holiness, drawing in others to do tasks they cannot or should not do.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith poignant examples from his ministry in South Africa, Sheffield, Cambridge, Peterborough and Salisbury, Cowley is blisteringly honest about when ministry was sheer hard slog, when he projected a 'false self' and failed to 'let go and let God'. The varied strategies that he outlines to reconnect with contemplative ministry have a hard-won and grounded feel.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere is a galaxy of quotations. Billy Connolly sees vocation as akin to wandering through a city centre and noting which shop window you are drawn to. Eugene Peterson avoids burnout by diarising two-hour appointments with FD three times per week. FD stands for Fyodor Dostoevsky!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe best was from Henri Nouwen: 'The leader of the future will be the one who dares to claim his irrelevance in the contemporary world as a divine vocation that allows him or her to enter into a deep solidarity with the anguish underlying all the glitter of success and to bring the light of Jesus there.' That rules Henri out of the Lambeth Talent Pool, then.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Rt Revd David Wilbourne is the Assistant Bishop of Llandaff\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Reader Spring 2016\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e'Remember, Ian, being comes before doing'. These words spoken to the author as a young man are at the heart of this volume. Subtitled 'Learning to lead from the still centre' Cowley is at pains to stress that this is not dependent on outward circumstances, and that we do not need to go out of the world to find God. Seven distinct sections take us on a journey from vocation, through contemplative ministry, prayer, being rooted in Jesus, letting go, contemplative living, and becoming a contemplative church. The book contains not only the author's personal experience but also is full of thought provoking examples and references which will inspire us on our own journey. Written primarily for clergy, there is more than enough food for thought for both established Readers and those seeking their calling. A compelling read at whatever stage of ministry we may be.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLiz Pacey\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-size: 15px; text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Contemplative Minister\u003c\/em\u003e: Learning to lead from the still centre by Ian Cowley Reading is a book for our time, fit for reading over Christmas, before you head back into the maelstrom, to survive the pressures on your time. All of us are ministers; all of us need to be contemplatives. This book, by an evangelically-minded Anglican priest who has imbibed some of the riches of the Catholic tradition of spirituality, is for you.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-size: 15px; text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNicholas King: The Tablet 10 December 2015\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003ca title=\"The Tablet Books of the Year\" href=\"http:\/\/www.thetablet.co.uk\/books\/10\/7519\/books-of-the-year-2\"\u003eThe Tablet Books of the Year 2015\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJulian Meeting Magazine December 2015\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI was drawn to this book by the title. As a clergy wife and long-time member of Julian Meetings it looked interesting, and I was not disappointed: much of this book is both inspiring and wise. Ian Cowley, as Vocations \u0026amp; Spiritual Adviser for the Diocese of Salisbury, developed a programme for ordained ministers. This book arose from that, so its emphasis is largely for active ministers. However, a lot in this book relates to us all whatever our vocation or calling. The book has many themes but it centres on finding the balance between 'being' and 'doing', and how the need for 'silent waiting on God' is essential in finding this balance. We are called first to a relationship with our Lord and unless that relationship is nurtured and sustained we will fail in our vocation. Alongside this Ian Cowley shows how we have to come to an understanding of our true selves: much of the time our 'false self' drives our actions, particularly our need for control and approval. So part of our journey with God is discovering the qualities of holiness and integrity. Ian Cowley is open and honest about his own experiences. As a South African he witnessed the oppression of his own people and shares insights of his ministry in this country too. I think anyone trying to follow the contemplative way will find a lot here to guide and help them. My own response was 'Alleluia': here is someone who really understands the transformative power of silence and stillness before God and can communicate this to others - quite refreshing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChrissie Rapsey\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom Reform Magazine - November 2015\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a profoundly attractive book. Ian Cowley is vocations and spirituality coordinator for the Diocese of Salisbury. Writing for those who exercise ordained ministry, Cowley stresses that we need to lead disciplined, consecrated lives to be effective instruments of God's peace. Daily prayer is a nonnegotiable personal discipline.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn a society obsessed with league tables and measurable success, many in ordained ministry either burn out or bail out. Cowley challenges this ethos, reminding the disciples of Jesus that being comes before doing, that we need to be rooted in the unconditional love of God.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCowley calls us to find our deepest identity in Christ through silence, prayer, stillness and Bible reading. To be contemplative is to see that prayer allows us to descend with the mind into the heart and there to stand before the face of the Lord, who is ever present, all seeing within you.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAccording to Cowley, the contemplative minister will only focus on three areas of ministry: Prayer, pastoral care and preaching. Cowley believes that the Church neither accepts nor understands the contemplative minister because prayer and being in the Kingdom of God cannot be easily measured. This book draws heavily on Cowley's Anglican spirituality. Though it is principally for ordained ministers, with a bit of creative imagination, all followers of Jesus will find this book helpful. Cowley's teaching in this book is both gentle and compelling, using personal testimony and judicious quotes. At a time when the United Reformed Church is trying to discern its calling for the future, this little book is worth being still with. It would be all too easy to justify our existence to the world by being busy; Cowley reminds us that, as the Church, we are called to be experts in prayer, and he wonders where, along the way, we managed to move from keeping the Sabbath to the Protestant work ethic.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJohn Gordon is a church minister serving in the central Sussex area\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom The Methodist Recorder - 30 October 2015\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIan Cowley is the Vocations and Spirituality co-ordinator for the Diocese of Salisbury. His new book, The Contemplative Minister - Learning to Lead from the Still Centre (Bible Reading Fellowship, GBP8.99), is addressed to ministers and priests who 'like swimmers in the open sea are only just managing to keep their heads above the waves'. There was a time when being a Christian minister or priest offered an opportunity of spending a lifetime in prayer, study, delivering sermons and exercising pastoral care within a community. Not anymore! Today the job requires such 'a heroic combination of stamina, multitasking and change management' that any awareness of God gets stifled. There are seven parts to this book - each with a couple of easily read short chapters. The whole book is written in a homely style. One can easily imagine Ian Cowley sitting with a small group of priests within the diocese and giving them the wisdom of his experience as a parish priest in South Africa, Cambridge and Peterborough.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePart One examines vocation and the difficulty of remaining in touch with God. Parts Two and Three spell out the need for the rediscovery of our true still-centre. 'Self -management of self should occupy 50 per cent of our time'. To this end he gives helpful tips about retreats, quiet days, time sheets, quietening the body, living with uncluttered space, the daily office and use of Scripture.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom Part Four the author begins to draw out biblical insights; letting peace rule our hearts, living 'in Christ Jesus' and fighting 'our adrenaline filled existence'. From part Five onwards he focuses on letting go, establishing a 'rule of life', spiritual formation and servant leadership. The book ends by describing how one establishes a 'contemplative church'.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe lack of ecumenical perspective is the main weak ness of the book, as is its failure adequately to address the circumstances of those of us who minister among aged congregations in churches of ever declining numbers. It would be wrong, however, to suggest that this book cannot be read with profit by non-Anglicans.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf Desmond Tutu is prepared to write its Foreword, then we can be certain that the subject of this book is significant!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Rev Tom Stuckey is a former President of the Conference.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTimely and relevant. Recommend this to any ordained minister. They will need it. Ministry is a high calling. It's not about finance, admin and committees, but primarily about prayer and service. Yet this vocation is in peril of being swamped by the mundane. Worth reading for Desmond Tutu's foreword alone!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEddie Olliffe, Together Magazine Nov\/Dec 2015\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIan Cowley writes from a background of life in Christian ministry and as someone now passionately engaged in seeking to help others thrive in ministry. This short, accessible book is filled to the brim with spiritual insight, but it is in concentrated form. You will need to take time to savour it and to reflect on it, and then find ways to implement it in your life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCowley's contention is that in the increasingly demanding context of the 21st Century church a new way of being in ministry is needed, what he terms contemplative ministry - 'the call to an ever deepening relationship of love for God, to lead others into that relationship and to enable them to respond to God in loving service and mission' (p18).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe author is writing mainly for those ordained in the Anglican church, and the book is a call to return to values of the ordination service, and in particular a life of prayer. He urges fellow ministers to nurture their inner life with God and to be deeply rooted in Christ so that they can sustain themselves in the challenges of ministerial life. The rationale for this is that our being must undergird our doing, and that to have authority in our leadership we must first be willing to allow God to change and transform us by the Holy Spirit.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis book is never simply theoretical in approach. Cowley provides lots of practical ways by which we can deepen our inner life, and his personal illustrations give vitality to his suggestions. He writes with a warm, compassionate tone which is never idealistic or legalistic. His passion for the contemplative life is clear, but he is humble, honest and sincere as he urges his readers to consider how they live and minister.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis book though is not just about the inner life. The final section, which I found the most engaging, is about his vision for a contemplative church, a community where there is a life of prayer and deepening relationship with God, of servant ministry and living simply for the sake of others. Such a community he suggests will instinctively be missional, and this is where the future of the Church lies. I suspect his ideas here are not yet fully formed, which suggests there might well be room for a second book on The Contemplative Church.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSome ministers, already aware of the importance of the inner life, will be able to integrate Cowley's teaching into their present ministry smoothly and easily. Others may find to become more contemplative they will have to make significant changes to the foundations of how they live and work. If they do so they will reap enormous benefits.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBuy this book for yourself or someone you know in ministry. It could be a life-saver. It will certainly be a life-giver.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTony Horsfall, author, freelance trainer and retreat leader\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e","published_at":"2019-01-18T15:21:16+00:00","created_at":"2019-01-18T15:21:17+00:00","vendor":"Ian Cowley","type":"Paperback","tags":["Glassboxx","Jun-15","Leadership"],"price":899,"price_min":899,"price_max":899,"available":true,"price_varies":false,"compare_at_price":null,"compare_at_price_min":0,"compare_at_price_max":0,"compare_at_price_varies":false,"variants":[{"id":21769204531300,"title":"Paperback","option1":"Paperback","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"9780857463609","requires_shipping":true,"taxable":false,"featured_image":{"id":7436619284580,"product_id":2439761035364,"position":1,"created_at":"2019-01-18T15:21:17+00:00","updated_at":"2019-02-01T17:46:05+00:00","alt":null,"width":425,"height":650,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857463609-l.jpg?v=1549043165","variant_ids":[21769204531300]},"available":true,"name":"The Contemplative Minister: Learning to lead from the still centre - Paperback","public_title":"Paperback","options":["Paperback"],"price":899,"weight":183,"compare_at_price":null,"inventory_management":"shopify","barcode":"9780857463609","featured_media":{"alt":null,"id":3238876741771,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":0.654,"height":650,"width":425,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857463609-l.jpg?v=1549043165"}},"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_allocations":[]}],"images":["\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857463609-l.jpg?v=1549043165"],"featured_image":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857463609-l.jpg?v=1549043165","options":["Format"],"media":[{"alt":null,"id":3238876741771,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":0.654,"height":650,"width":425,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857463609-l.jpg?v=1549043165"},"aspect_ratio":0.654,"height":650,"media_type":"image","src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857463609-l.jpg?v=1549043165","width":425}],"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_groups":[],"content":"\u003cp\u003eEugene Peterson's bestselling book \u003cstrong\u003eThe Contemplative Pastor\u003c\/strong\u003e has helped many church leaders to keep a strong spiritual centre to ministry as they are engulfed by the busyness of church life.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe church landscape has now moved on considerably since Peterson's book was published 20 years ago, both in the USA and the UK. Electronic media, multi-parish appointments and the ever increasing stress and demands of modern-day ministry have continued to challenge church leaders aggressively. Today, many are looking for a different way of being in ministry, a better way of serving Christ than the relentless busyness and pressure that have become the norm. But how?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIan Cowley, Coordinator of Vocations and Spirituality in Salisbury Diocese, offers direction for contemplative leaders in the 21st century, drawing on his South African roots and the influence of contemplative leaders such as Desmond Tutu. He explains practically how to prioritise a relationship with God and lead others into that relationship, creating a shared ministry to allow the leader to nurture faith and spirituality amid the hectic life that is ministry today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eEndorsements\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis book is concerned with the central vocation of those who are called to the ordained ministry. As priests, we are called to be people in whom others may see God. There is a great hunger for God among many people today. This is a hunger which is not just for things about God, for sermons, books, talks and videos, but for God himself. A contemplative minister is someone who is called first of all to God and to his heart of love, so that the world may also know God and his love for all that he has made.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eArchbishop Desmond Tutu\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAuthor info\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIan Cowley is Vocations and Spirituality Coordinator for the Diocese of Salisbury and since 2010 has led and developed The Contemplative Minister programme in the Diocese, which has been greatly appreciated by many clergy. He has also written The Transformation Principle (2002), Going Empty Handed (1996) and A People of Hope (1993). He has been a parish priest in Natal, South Africa, and also in Cambridge and Peterborough.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo read Ian's lockdown blog, 'Wild times and the love of God', click \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/blogs\/collections\/wild-times-and-the-love-of-god\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eMedia reviews\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Wycliffite issue no 1, Review of reprint (2016)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere was a time when Christian ministry offered the opportunity to spend your life in the study of God's word, in reading and reflection, in prayer and sermon preparation and in the quiet and faithful pastoral care of a community. The world has changed, and with it most of the expectations that govern church appointments. These days there are very few jobs in full time ministry which do not require a heroic combination of stamina, multi-tasking and change management. This book gives practical advice on how to nurture faith and a sense of calling amid the hectic life that is ministry today. Drawing on his experience of developing and leading training programmes in this area, Ian Cowley assesses the stresses and pressures of the job and shows how to grow into being a 'contemplative minister', prioritising a relationship of deepening love with God. He also offers guidance on leading others into that same relationship, without your own spiritual life running dry.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReview in \u003cstrong\u003eLead-on \u003c\/strong\u003eJanuary 2018\u003cbr\u003e 'Those who work without prayer - no matter how good the work, no matter how sincere the minister - soon dry up inside.' (John Chittiter) \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The Contemplative Minister aims to help us avoid this scenario. It is a good introduction to how to remain prayerful and rooted in Christ in the ups and downs of public leadership, or a good reminder for those who have read around this topic before.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e In seven parts it covers vocation, contemplative ministry, prayer, rooted in Jesus, letting go, contemplative living, and becoming a contemplative church. Throughout Cowley refers to a wide body of material and offers practical insights into how to shape a contemplative life. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The chapters on rules and exercises and on spiritual formation are particularly helpful. Cowley outlines eight spiritual disciplines that he has found are core to the contemplative life, including detachment, attentiveness, gratitude and servanthood. For example, he encourages us to use the opportunities daily life affords to learn detachment: when stuck in a traffic jam, when a train is delayed, when we become ill at an inconvenient time, etc. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e For Cowley 'spiritual formation means being formed into the likeness of Jesus for the sake of others.' This book certainly helps with that process. My guess is that it will be even more helpful if we study it with others and gain some accountability for putting into practice some of the helpful ideas it contains. \u003cstrong\u003eLead-on\u003c\/strong\u003e is the monthly newsletter of the CPAS \u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/cpas.us8.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=9c4386d25a49e13c1e4be3e09\u0026amp;id=cd0c8513e9\u0026amp;e=2ba37f7c1e\"\u003ewww.cpas.org.uk\/leadon\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Church Times - 4 November 2016\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThough saved by grace, we act as if we are saved by works, busily ministering in a hyperactive Church and hectic world. Ian Cowley's counter-cultural book presents a heady foil to frenetic activity, questioning the need for it, seeing being contemplative as non-negotiable, even seeking it when busyness just cannot be avoided.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn his bracing foreword, Desmond Tutu urges us simply to accept that we are accepted. Quoting Evelyn Underhill, 'Christ was trained in a carpenter's shop, but we persist in preferring a confectioner's shop,' Tutu fears that frantic activity is both a distraction and avoidance of faith's core demands - whereas being assured of God's love fires you to truckle to no man, and even face martyrdom.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCowley presents an immensely readable tour de force through vocation; several methods of prayer; being rooted in Jesus; and letting go to enable our ministry, living and Church to be grounded in contem plation. Priests are called both to be and to do, finding what is life-giving and doing it; but also, by their sheer holiness, drawing in others to do tasks they cannot or should not do.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith poignant examples from his ministry in South Africa, Sheffield, Cambridge, Peterborough and Salisbury, Cowley is blisteringly honest about when ministry was sheer hard slog, when he projected a 'false self' and failed to 'let go and let God'. The varied strategies that he outlines to reconnect with contemplative ministry have a hard-won and grounded feel.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere is a galaxy of quotations. Billy Connolly sees vocation as akin to wandering through a city centre and noting which shop window you are drawn to. Eugene Peterson avoids burnout by diarising two-hour appointments with FD three times per week. FD stands for Fyodor Dostoevsky!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe best was from Henri Nouwen: 'The leader of the future will be the one who dares to claim his irrelevance in the contemporary world as a divine vocation that allows him or her to enter into a deep solidarity with the anguish underlying all the glitter of success and to bring the light of Jesus there.' That rules Henri out of the Lambeth Talent Pool, then.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Rt Revd David Wilbourne is the Assistant Bishop of Llandaff\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Reader Spring 2016\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e'Remember, Ian, being comes before doing'. These words spoken to the author as a young man are at the heart of this volume. Subtitled 'Learning to lead from the still centre' Cowley is at pains to stress that this is not dependent on outward circumstances, and that we do not need to go out of the world to find God. Seven distinct sections take us on a journey from vocation, through contemplative ministry, prayer, being rooted in Jesus, letting go, contemplative living, and becoming a contemplative church. The book contains not only the author's personal experience but also is full of thought provoking examples and references which will inspire us on our own journey. Written primarily for clergy, there is more than enough food for thought for both established Readers and those seeking their calling. A compelling read at whatever stage of ministry we may be.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLiz Pacey\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-size: 15px; text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Contemplative Minister\u003c\/em\u003e: Learning to lead from the still centre by Ian Cowley Reading is a book for our time, fit for reading over Christmas, before you head back into the maelstrom, to survive the pressures on your time. All of us are ministers; all of us need to be contemplatives. This book, by an evangelically-minded Anglican priest who has imbibed some of the riches of the Catholic tradition of spirituality, is for you.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-size: 15px; text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNicholas King: The Tablet 10 December 2015\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003ca title=\"The Tablet Books of the Year\" href=\"http:\/\/www.thetablet.co.uk\/books\/10\/7519\/books-of-the-year-2\"\u003eThe Tablet Books of the Year 2015\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJulian Meeting Magazine December 2015\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI was drawn to this book by the title. As a clergy wife and long-time member of Julian Meetings it looked interesting, and I was not disappointed: much of this book is both inspiring and wise. Ian Cowley, as Vocations \u0026amp; Spiritual Adviser for the Diocese of Salisbury, developed a programme for ordained ministers. This book arose from that, so its emphasis is largely for active ministers. However, a lot in this book relates to us all whatever our vocation or calling. The book has many themes but it centres on finding the balance between 'being' and 'doing', and how the need for 'silent waiting on God' is essential in finding this balance. We are called first to a relationship with our Lord and unless that relationship is nurtured and sustained we will fail in our vocation. Alongside this Ian Cowley shows how we have to come to an understanding of our true selves: much of the time our 'false self' drives our actions, particularly our need for control and approval. So part of our journey with God is discovering the qualities of holiness and integrity. Ian Cowley is open and honest about his own experiences. As a South African he witnessed the oppression of his own people and shares insights of his ministry in this country too. I think anyone trying to follow the contemplative way will find a lot here to guide and help them. My own response was 'Alleluia': here is someone who really understands the transformative power of silence and stillness before God and can communicate this to others - quite refreshing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChrissie Rapsey\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom Reform Magazine - November 2015\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a profoundly attractive book. Ian Cowley is vocations and spirituality coordinator for the Diocese of Salisbury. Writing for those who exercise ordained ministry, Cowley stresses that we need to lead disciplined, consecrated lives to be effective instruments of God's peace. Daily prayer is a nonnegotiable personal discipline.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn a society obsessed with league tables and measurable success, many in ordained ministry either burn out or bail out. Cowley challenges this ethos, reminding the disciples of Jesus that being comes before doing, that we need to be rooted in the unconditional love of God.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCowley calls us to find our deepest identity in Christ through silence, prayer, stillness and Bible reading. To be contemplative is to see that prayer allows us to descend with the mind into the heart and there to stand before the face of the Lord, who is ever present, all seeing within you.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAccording to Cowley, the contemplative minister will only focus on three areas of ministry: Prayer, pastoral care and preaching. Cowley believes that the Church neither accepts nor understands the contemplative minister because prayer and being in the Kingdom of God cannot be easily measured. This book draws heavily on Cowley's Anglican spirituality. Though it is principally for ordained ministers, with a bit of creative imagination, all followers of Jesus will find this book helpful. Cowley's teaching in this book is both gentle and compelling, using personal testimony and judicious quotes. At a time when the United Reformed Church is trying to discern its calling for the future, this little book is worth being still with. It would be all too easy to justify our existence to the world by being busy; Cowley reminds us that, as the Church, we are called to be experts in prayer, and he wonders where, along the way, we managed to move from keeping the Sabbath to the Protestant work ethic.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJohn Gordon is a church minister serving in the central Sussex area\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom The Methodist Recorder - 30 October 2015\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIan Cowley is the Vocations and Spirituality co-ordinator for the Diocese of Salisbury. His new book, The Contemplative Minister - Learning to Lead from the Still Centre (Bible Reading Fellowship, GBP8.99), is addressed to ministers and priests who 'like swimmers in the open sea are only just managing to keep their heads above the waves'. There was a time when being a Christian minister or priest offered an opportunity of spending a lifetime in prayer, study, delivering sermons and exercising pastoral care within a community. Not anymore! Today the job requires such 'a heroic combination of stamina, multitasking and change management' that any awareness of God gets stifled. There are seven parts to this book - each with a couple of easily read short chapters. The whole book is written in a homely style. One can easily imagine Ian Cowley sitting with a small group of priests within the diocese and giving them the wisdom of his experience as a parish priest in South Africa, Cambridge and Peterborough.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePart One examines vocation and the difficulty of remaining in touch with God. Parts Two and Three spell out the need for the rediscovery of our true still-centre. 'Self -management of self should occupy 50 per cent of our time'. To this end he gives helpful tips about retreats, quiet days, time sheets, quietening the body, living with uncluttered space, the daily office and use of Scripture.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom Part Four the author begins to draw out biblical insights; letting peace rule our hearts, living 'in Christ Jesus' and fighting 'our adrenaline filled existence'. From part Five onwards he focuses on letting go, establishing a 'rule of life', spiritual formation and servant leadership. The book ends by describing how one establishes a 'contemplative church'.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe lack of ecumenical perspective is the main weak ness of the book, as is its failure adequately to address the circumstances of those of us who minister among aged congregations in churches of ever declining numbers. It would be wrong, however, to suggest that this book cannot be read with profit by non-Anglicans.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf Desmond Tutu is prepared to write its Foreword, then we can be certain that the subject of this book is significant!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Rev Tom Stuckey is a former President of the Conference.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTimely and relevant. Recommend this to any ordained minister. They will need it. Ministry is a high calling. It's not about finance, admin and committees, but primarily about prayer and service. Yet this vocation is in peril of being swamped by the mundane. Worth reading for Desmond Tutu's foreword alone!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEddie Olliffe, Together Magazine Nov\/Dec 2015\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIan Cowley writes from a background of life in Christian ministry and as someone now passionately engaged in seeking to help others thrive in ministry. This short, accessible book is filled to the brim with spiritual insight, but it is in concentrated form. You will need to take time to savour it and to reflect on it, and then find ways to implement it in your life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCowley's contention is that in the increasingly demanding context of the 21st Century church a new way of being in ministry is needed, what he terms contemplative ministry - 'the call to an ever deepening relationship of love for God, to lead others into that relationship and to enable them to respond to God in loving service and mission' (p18).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe author is writing mainly for those ordained in the Anglican church, and the book is a call to return to values of the ordination service, and in particular a life of prayer. He urges fellow ministers to nurture their inner life with God and to be deeply rooted in Christ so that they can sustain themselves in the challenges of ministerial life. The rationale for this is that our being must undergird our doing, and that to have authority in our leadership we must first be willing to allow God to change and transform us by the Holy Spirit.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis book is never simply theoretical in approach. Cowley provides lots of practical ways by which we can deepen our inner life, and his personal illustrations give vitality to his suggestions. He writes with a warm, compassionate tone which is never idealistic or legalistic. His passion for the contemplative life is clear, but he is humble, honest and sincere as he urges his readers to consider how they live and minister.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis book though is not just about the inner life. The final section, which I found the most engaging, is about his vision for a contemplative church, a community where there is a life of prayer and deepening relationship with God, of servant ministry and living simply for the sake of others. Such a community he suggests will instinctively be missional, and this is where the future of the Church lies. I suspect his ideas here are not yet fully formed, which suggests there might well be room for a second book on The Contemplative Church.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSome ministers, already aware of the importance of the inner life, will be able to integrate Cowley's teaching into their present ministry smoothly and easily. Others may find to become more contemplative they will have to make significant changes to the foundations of how they live and work. If they do so they will reap enormous benefits.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBuy this book for yourself or someone you know in ministry. It could be a life-saver. It will certainly be a life-giver.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTony Horsfall, author, freelance trainer and retreat leader\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e"}
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{"id":2439755661412,"title":"Blended A Call to Reimagine Our Church Family: Rethinking how we can be church together","handle":"blended-a-call-to-reimagine-our-church-family-rethinking-how-we-can-be-church-together","description":"\u003cp\u003eChurch as we know it is changing... with conversations and initiatives bubbling up around how our churches can be truly intergenerational, functioning in close and loving community as the body of Christ. Eleanor Bird speaks into the debate with a challenge to rethink our work with all ages from the ground up, offering practical observations drawn from her experience of developing children's and youth ministry in a local church context, together with a biblically based framework for how this thinking can be taken forward in your church.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEleanor Bird is Head of Children and Youth Ministry at St Chad's Romiley in Greater Manchester, overseeing all ministries with two to 19-year-olds. She has been involved in children's work leadership since she was twelve and in full-time ministry since the age of 21, leading children's venues for New Wine and workshops and seminars for leaders across the UK.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAuthor info\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEleanor Bird is Head of Children and Youth Ministry at St Chad's Romiley in Greater Manchester, overseeing all ministries with two to 19-year-olds. She has been involved in children's work leadership since she was twelve and in full-time ministry since the age of 21, leading children's venues for New Wine and workshops and seminars for leaders across the UK\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eEndorsements\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn order for us to see nations changed, we need to see the full body of Christ rise up together across all ages, to walk and minister shoulder to shoulder. Blended invites us to see that it is not only necessary, but possible. No matter what size community or denomination we belong to, this book gives us ways of seeing and doing church together with a new heart that will reap great rewards for the kingdom. Rachel Turner, author and speaker\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eMedia reviews\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-size: 15px; text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMethodist Recorder 13 May 2016\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-size: 15px; text-align: left;\"\u003eHERE'S another of those paperbacks whose title alone makes you believe it might provide the answer to all the challenges facing the life of your local church. \u003cem\u003eBlended - A Call to Reimagine our Church Family\u003c\/em\u003e by Eleanor Bird (brf, 8.99), subtitled 'Rethinking how we can be church together', is about investigating a 'new way of being God's family'. And in the ensuing 14 chapters there is much to give church leaders a lot of food for thought. When you realise that the author is 'head of children and youth ministry' at a thriving Anglican church in Romiley, Greater Manchester, overseeing all ministries with two- to 19-year-olds, you have a good idea of what it is all about. In fact, this book could be the answer to your prayers!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-size: 15px; text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJohn Singleton\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Well magazine. The Methodist Church Summer 2016\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eBlended\u003c\/em\u003e, Eleanor Bird invites us to reimagine a new way of being Church together: a Church that no longer divides by age lines but instead embraces being a community of different generations. For too long, she says, Christian communities have been separated; children, youth and adults each following their own programmes. Her vision is one where the lines drawn between these groups become blurred; rubbed away to become a more unified and connected body of believers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe focus of Bird's book is the times when church communities gather for worship. Her philosophy is built on four key values: \u003cbr\u003e not calling Church 'work; '\u003cbr\u003e giving everyone in church equal influence; \u003cbr\u003e training when apart, for the times we gather as Church; \u003cbr\u003e making the most of the times we gather to experiment and explain what's happening.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese building blocks underpin all that Church is and does. They serve to create a community that thrives in worship, both when together and apart. So the times when groups pursue their own programme are seen as vital opportunities to prepare and develop understanding for when all gather together. She advocates a model in which style and content are gradually merged, helping worship times become increasingly seamless.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis emphasis on worship (in the narrow sense of sung worship and teaching) is central in developing a more cohesive church community. Bird makes the case for church to embrace its whole spectrum of family, yet the question remains what form this may take beyond Sunday services. What the features of a blended church might be outside of these times is the next natural field to explore.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBird's personal testimony and experience are threads throughout the book, this adds an authentic dimension when she recounts how her own faith and understanding developed. As readers, we're urged to join her on this road of discovery that sees God's kingdom grow in our churches and beyond.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGail Adcock, Methodist Family Ministry Development Officer\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e","published_at":"2024-12-13T17:23:16+00:00","created_at":"2019-01-18T15:20:59+00:00","vendor":"Eleanor Bird","type":"Paperback","tags":["Church life","Kindle","Leadership","Oct-15"],"price":899,"price_min":899,"price_max":899,"available":false,"price_varies":false,"compare_at_price":null,"compare_at_price_min":0,"compare_at_price_max":0,"compare_at_price_varies":false,"variants":[{"id":21769138929764,"title":"Paperback","option1":"Paperback","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"9780857461124","requires_shipping":false,"taxable":false,"featured_image":{"id":7436583305316,"product_id":2439755661412,"position":1,"created_at":"2019-01-18T15:20:59+00:00","updated_at":"2019-02-01T17:46:08+00:00","alt":null,"width":426,"height":650,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857461124-l.jpg?v=1549043168","variant_ids":[21769138929764]},"available":false,"name":"Blended A Call to Reimagine Our Church Family: Rethinking how we can be church together - Paperback","public_title":"Paperback","options":["Paperback"],"price":899,"weight":166,"compare_at_price":null,"inventory_management":"shopify","barcode":"9780857461124","featured_media":{"alt":null,"id":3238875431051,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":0.655,"height":650,"width":426,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857461124-l.jpg?v=1549043168"}},"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_allocations":[]}],"images":["\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857461124-l.jpg?v=1549043168"],"featured_image":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857461124-l.jpg?v=1549043168","options":["Format"],"media":[{"alt":null,"id":3238875431051,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":0.655,"height":650,"width":426,"src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857461124-l.jpg?v=1549043168"},"aspect_ratio":0.655,"height":650,"media_type":"image","src":"\/\/www.brfonline.org.uk\/cdn\/shop\/products\/9780857461124-l.jpg?v=1549043168","width":426}],"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_groups":[],"content":"\u003cp\u003eChurch as we know it is changing... with conversations and initiatives bubbling up around how our churches can be truly intergenerational, functioning in close and loving community as the body of Christ. Eleanor Bird speaks into the debate with a challenge to rethink our work with all ages from the ground up, offering practical observations drawn from her experience of developing children's and youth ministry in a local church context, together with a biblically based framework for how this thinking can be taken forward in your church.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEleanor Bird is Head of Children and Youth Ministry at St Chad's Romiley in Greater Manchester, overseeing all ministries with two to 19-year-olds. She has been involved in children's work leadership since she was twelve and in full-time ministry since the age of 21, leading children's venues for New Wine and workshops and seminars for leaders across the UK.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAuthor info\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEleanor Bird is Head of Children and Youth Ministry at St Chad's Romiley in Greater Manchester, overseeing all ministries with two to 19-year-olds. She has been involved in children's work leadership since she was twelve and in full-time ministry since the age of 21, leading children's venues for New Wine and workshops and seminars for leaders across the UK\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eEndorsements\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn order for us to see nations changed, we need to see the full body of Christ rise up together across all ages, to walk and minister shoulder to shoulder. Blended invites us to see that it is not only necessary, but possible. No matter what size community or denomination we belong to, this book gives us ways of seeing and doing church together with a new heart that will reap great rewards for the kingdom. Rachel Turner, author and speaker\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eMedia reviews\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-size: 15px; text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMethodist Recorder 13 May 2016\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-size: 15px; text-align: left;\"\u003eHERE'S another of those paperbacks whose title alone makes you believe it might provide the answer to all the challenges facing the life of your local church. \u003cem\u003eBlended - A Call to Reimagine our Church Family\u003c\/em\u003e by Eleanor Bird (brf, 8.99), subtitled 'Rethinking how we can be church together', is about investigating a 'new way of being God's family'. And in the ensuing 14 chapters there is much to give church leaders a lot of food for thought. When you realise that the author is 'head of children and youth ministry' at a thriving Anglican church in Romiley, Greater Manchester, overseeing all ministries with two- to 19-year-olds, you have a good idea of what it is all about. In fact, this book could be the answer to your prayers!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-size: 15px; text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJohn Singleton\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Well magazine. The Methodist Church Summer 2016\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eBlended\u003c\/em\u003e, Eleanor Bird invites us to reimagine a new way of being Church together: a Church that no longer divides by age lines but instead embraces being a community of different generations. For too long, she says, Christian communities have been separated; children, youth and adults each following their own programmes. Her vision is one where the lines drawn between these groups become blurred; rubbed away to become a more unified and connected body of believers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe focus of Bird's book is the times when church communities gather for worship. Her philosophy is built on four key values: \u003cbr\u003e not calling Church 'work; '\u003cbr\u003e giving everyone in church equal influence; \u003cbr\u003e training when apart, for the times we gather as Church; \u003cbr\u003e making the most of the times we gather to experiment and explain what's happening.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese building blocks underpin all that Church is and does. They serve to create a community that thrives in worship, both when together and apart. So the times when groups pursue their own programme are seen as vital opportunities to prepare and develop understanding for when all gather together. She advocates a model in which style and content are gradually merged, helping worship times become increasingly seamless.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis emphasis on worship (in the narrow sense of sung worship and teaching) is central in developing a more cohesive church community. Bird makes the case for church to embrace its whole spectrum of family, yet the question remains what form this may take beyond Sunday services. What the features of a blended church might be outside of these times is the next natural field to explore.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBird's personal testimony and experience are threads throughout the book, this adds an authentic dimension when she recounts how her own faith and understanding developed. As readers, we're urged to join her on this road of discovery that sees God's kingdom grow in our churches and beyond.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGail Adcock, Methodist Family Ministry Development Officer\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e"}
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Blended A Call to Reimagine Our Church Family: Rethinking how we can be church together
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Church as we know it is changing... with conversations and initiatives bubbling up around how our churches can be truly...
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