Church Health

Think about your church for a moment. Is it growing? Is it diminishing? Is it somewhere in between? Acclaimed church leader, blogger, and founder and chief strategic officer of The Unstuck Group, Tony Morgan has identified the seven stages of a church's lifecycle that range from the hopeful and optimistic days of launch, to the stagnating last stages of life support. Regardless of the stage in which you find your church, it carries with it the world's greatest mission - to "go and make disciples of all the nations..."

The church across North America has struggled to minister effectively with children, teens, and adults with common mental health conditions and their families. One reason for the lack of ministry is the absence of a widely accepted model for mental health outreach and inclusion. In Mental Health and the Church, Dr. Stephen Grcevich presents a simple and flexible model for mental health inclusion ministry for implementation by churches of all sizes, denominations, and organizational styles.

Many people are struggling with mental-health conditions, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and life in our image-conscious culture. But when it comes to helping, it can be tricky to know where to begin. This wise, compassionate, and practical book is written by Steve Midgley, psychiatrist and Executive Director of Biblical Counselling UK, and Helen Thorne, Director of Training and Resources at Biblical Counselling UK. It will help listeners understand and respond with biblical wisdom to people who are struggling with their mental health.

In The Righteous Mind, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt explores the origins of our divisions and points the way forward to mutual understanding. His starting point is moral intuition - the nearly instantaneous perceptions we all have about other people and the things they do. These intuitions feel like self-evident truths, making us righteously certain that those who see things differently are wrong. Haidt shows us how these intuitions differ across cultures, including the cultures of the political left and right.

We've seen the news stories and heard the rumors. Maybe we ourselves have been hurt by a narcissistic church leader. It's easy to throw the term around and diagnose others from afar. But what is narcissism, really? And how does it infiltrate the church?

In a time when technology penetrates our lives in so many ways and materialism exerts such a powerful influence over us, Robert Cardinal Sarah presents a bold book about the strength of silence. The modern world generates so much noise, he says, that seeking moments of silence has become both harder and more necessary than ever before. Silence is the indispensable doorway to the divine, explains the cardinal in this profound conversation with Nicolas Diat, and he seeks to restore to silence its place of honor and importance.

When high speed Internet became widely available a few years ago, growing numbers of people began to worry that their porn use was running out of control. Far from preparing them for fulfilling relationships, viewing an endless stream of porn videos led to unexpected symptoms.

Despite Jesus' prayer that all Christians "be one", divisions have been epidemic in the body of Christ from the beginning to the present. We cluster in theological groups, gender groups, age groups, ethnic groups, educational, and economic groups. We criticize freely those who disagree with us, don't look like us, don't act like us, and don't even like what we like. With a personal touch and the trained eye of a social psychologist, Cleveland brings to bear the latest studies and research on the unseen dynamics at work that tend to separate us from others.

In the aftermath of the pandemic, even those who have never struggled with mental health have found themselves reeling, looking for answers they don't know how to find. For Christians, especially those who've despaired of help from a church that has too often stigmatized poor mental health as a lack of faith, the way forward can be particularly difficult to see. Jonathon Seidl aims to fix that. Having fought his own way through crippling anxiety, life-altering OCD, and suicidal thoughts, he knows the value of concrete advice grounded in strong biblical truth.

The idea that “thoughts become things” has become a meme in popular culture. It’s held as a firm proposition in metaphysics, and some spiritual teachers ascribe infinite powers to the mind. But are these claims scientifically accurate? What does the scientific evidence tell us about the scope of the human mind to transform thoughts into reality?

When church members are equipped to do the work of ministry, they are quicker to volunteer. The Bible instructs its leaders to equip their members for ministry. This book, in its 8.5” X 11” format, is easily reproducible on your copier to make training in Breaking Growth Barriers, using Spiritual Gifts, Assimilation, Evangelism, Usher & Greeter Training, Church Health, and MORE, in over 200 pages - easy, fun, and exciting. You can start training your church right away, using this book.

As a psychotherapist and professor of marriage and family therapy and sexuality at a Christian University, Tina Schermer Sellers, PhD, has spent a career listening deeply to the often untold, most tightly held, shame-filled stories of people’s lives. Over the last 30 years in particular, these stories have revealed the devastating effects of abstinence education, the purity movement of the evangelical church, and the simultaneous removal of media regulations that allowed for an influx of sexual violence against women to enter all forms of commercial media beginning in the 1980s.

With the story of the painful and life-changing crisis he experienced in the Church that led him to love the Church more intensely, Fr. Berg Along intertwines the stories of other Catholics who have themselves experienced life-changing hurts but who, in Jesus, found healing. Ultimately, this audiobook is about hope for wounded believers: If you have been hurt in the Church, Jesus can take you on a journey through your wounds, a journey of healing that will make you an even better human being, a better Christian, and a better disciple.

On a clear spring day in 1995, five members of a religious cult unleashed poison gas on the Tokyo subway system. In attempt to discover why, Haruki Murakmi talks to the people who lived through the catastrophe, and in so doing lays bare the Japanese psyche. As he discerns the fundamental issues that led to the attack, Murakami paints a clear vision of an event that could occur anytime, anywhere.

Science and Health, with Key to the Scriptures is the central text of the Christian Science religion. It was written by Mary Baker Eddy, inspired by studies of the Bible she undertook in 1867 following a healing experience. Science and Health posits a wholly metaphysical view of Christianity in which sin, disease, and death are not of God, and are therefore not real. Further, it suggests that by striving toward a spiritual understanding of the world as God's perfect creation, these "false beliefs" are shed from one's experience.

From the marvelous author of Heartstopper comes an exceptional YA novel about discovering that it's okay if you don't have sexual or romantic feelings for anyone...since there are plenty of other ways to find love and connection.

Peter Mt. Shasta leads you through meditation instruction that even a child can follow with ease. He also gives various methods he learned from the Masters, and which he only gave previously in retreats. Listening to Peter read these affirmations from his home in Mount Shasta, will raise you into the awareness of your own source, and help you experience the Ascended Master dimension of light. This is the audio version of the best-selling book on self-mastery.

As a teenager, you are set to embark on an exciting journey through high school, university, and then the world. Whether you are stepping out into the world on your own or you just want to be prepared for the adventurous voyage ahead, this book is a must-listen! Learning valuable skills now will help you navigate your way to success in the upcoming chapters of your life!

The correlation between Christian faith and mental health has been a subject of intricate exploration and discussion. Within the teachings of Christianity, fundamental principles like forgiveness and gratitude are believed to wield substantial influence over mental well-being. Christianity emphasizes the significance of forgiveness—both seeking it from God and extending it to others. This practice holds potential transformative effects on mental health, as harboring grudges and resentment can breed bitterness, anger, and anxiety.

In the intricate web of life, secrets are our silent companions. Ramsey, a guardian of hidden truths, conceals a debilitating illness that quietly orchestrates the rhythm of her love life. A heart-wrenching breakup propels Ramsey into a perilous game of Russian roulette, where every spin and ominous click of life's loaded pistol draws her closer to an inevitable fate. Undaunted, Ramsey steers through life on her own terms. Yet, every new love exacts a toll, and each old lover carries a debt she is compelled to settle. Deep within her, a profound mystery unfolds, its magnitude known only to ...