Showing results by author "Rosario Picardo" in All Categories

Fresh Expressions is a canary in the coal mine, alerting congregations to reevaluate what the Church is, where and when it can happen, and who can lead it. Church as we know it is inaccessible to most people. A fundamental premise of the movement is that Church can become accessible again by emerging in every nook and cranny where life already happens. Fresh Expressions is based in simplification, returning to basic scriptural principles, and a recovery of a "priesthood of all believers" - in the three places where people live and relate to others.

Rosario Picardo was a recently divorced and slightly jaded ex-Marine when he heeded God's call to plant "a church for broken people". This book chronicles the struggles and triumphs of Embrace Church, from its beginnings in his basement as a rare urban church plant to a multi-campus congregation that reaches hundreds of folks broken by poverty, burned by Christians, and in need of healing grace.

Clergy are trained to preach, teach, and lead a congregation in spiritual matters. However, there is very little training for clergy when it comes to the "business" matters of the church - finances, debt reduction, fundraising, and building maintenance. The added and sometimes unexpected load for clergy can become cumbersome and extremely stressful.

Ministry Makeover examines the decline within the church, especially the United Methodist Church (UMC), and some causes for this decline. It calls for a reforming of United Methodist structure and polity by drawing more attention to the value of the bi-vocational model of ministry and a re-visitation of the Wesleyan/United Brethren view and historical perspective.

Money talks. Money has power. Influence. It ascribes worth and value. Almost like a god, money beckons us to worship and idolize. In fact, money has become a god for many of us. We work and work to get more, buy more, consume more-to have the latest, the best, the better than we had before. We stress about money. Will we have enough? What do we do when the bank account gets too low? When the credit card bills get too high? What happens when there’s more month than money? The good news is, money isn’t the only thing that talks. God also talks. Even louder than money if we have the ears ...

Join us as we discover how to live out our faith in Jesus Christ in our relationships, churches, and communities, so that we can truly say we are "better together."