There is a church not too far from us that recently added a $25 million addition to their building.
Our local newspaper ran a front-page story not too long ago about a study revealing that one in five people in our city lives in poverty.
This is a book about those two numbers.

Defines a biblical church as one that properly balances theeternal truths of Scripture with timely, relevant methods designedto engage the culture.

The book in the popular Re:Lit series picks up where VintageJesus leaves off, beginning with a focus on the person andwork of Jesus and then exploring the confessional, experiential,and missional aspects of his church. This study grows out of thevintage concept of taking timeless truths from Scripture-truthsabout church leadership, preaching, baptism, communion, andmore-and blending them with aspects of contemporary culture, suchas multi-campus churches and the latest forms of technology, toreach people with the gospel.

While Vintage Church is helpful for pastors and churchleaders, it is the kind of book you could hand to someone who hasquestions about ecclesiology but finds the very termecclesiology intimidating. The authors put forth twelvepractical questions about church doctrine and answer them in clear,biblical language that lay people and new believers canunderstand.

In The Book on Leadership, best-selling author, pastor, and teacher John MacArthur sets the record straight: Leadership does not come from a job title, but from a much deeper source. Based on the writings of the apostle Paul, MacArthur presents the "26 Characteristics of a True Leader" for anyone at work, church, school, or home.

The thesis of The Purpose Driven Church is that when churches think first about their health, growth is sure to follow. "If your church is healthy," writes Rick Warren, "growth will occur naturally. Healthy, consistent growth is the result of balancing the five biblical purposes of the church." These five purposes are to "Love the Lord with all your heart," "Love your neighbor as yourself," "Go and make disciples," "[Baptize] them," and "[Teach] them to obey." And those purposes can only be accomplished, argues Warren, when church leaders stop thinking about church-building programs and shift their focus to a "people-building process" involving fellowship, discipleship, worship, and evangelism. Warren, the founder of the fastest-growing Baptist church in American history, has taught seminars to thousands of pastors from all over the world, many of whom have successfully implemented his techniques.