Books

nobodiesNobodies for Jesus: 14 Days Toward a Great Commission Lifestyle

Rainer Publishing • 2014 • 9780615960890

Purchase: Amazon

The concept of Nobodies for Jesus is simple but profound: take 14 days and develop a Great Commission lifestyle. The book weaves through numerous New Testament narratives to show how “regular” people, “nobodies,” became somebody for the sake of the gospel. This book, if taken seriously, has the ability to transform individuals, groups, and even entire churches. The 14-day study guide is excellent for use in multiple settings.


9780310262862Membership Matters: Insights from Effective Churches on New Member Classes and Assimilation

Zondervan • 2005 • 9780310262862

Purchase: AmazonBarnes & Noble • LifeWay

Findings from a national study to improve membership classes and to motivate current members into active ministry How do churches move members—both old and new— into ministry? Many church staff and lay leaders know they need to start new member classes as a point of entry into their churches but don’t know how. This book is based on a national study of effective churches and shows how growing churches implement new member classes and motivate their members into ministry. Membership Matters is designed to be a guide for church leaders wanting to start or improve a membership class. It includes models for classes and examples of resources such as church covenants, class schedules, and lesson outlines. It also gives direction on motivating uninvolved members to participate in ministry. One chapter chronicles an ongoing discussion among pastors of growing churches that are effectively motivating members to do ministry.


9780825431593Discipled Warriors: Growing Healthy Churches That Are Equipped for Spiritual Warfare

Kregel • 2002 • 9780825431593

Purchase: AmazonBarnes & Noble

Using solid biblical exegesis, Chuck Lawless presents a well-rounded, proven model for fighting the enemy through the development of a spiritually healthy church. This unique book suggests workable strategies and resources for developing disciples prepared for spiritual warfare.


9781415832042Putting on the Armor: Equipped and Deployed for Spiritual Warfare

LifeWay • 2006 • 9781415832042

Purchase: AmazonChristianBook.comLifeWay

Putting on the Armor is an excellent 7-session study for new and growing believers seeking practical application of personal spiritual disciplines in order to defeat the enemy in times of temptation. This study does not offer "cures" for any temptation, but does lay out the path to victory for every believer. Author Chuck Lawless believes that Ephesians 6:10-20 gives us clear direction on how to fight the enemy and how to develop and demonstrate effective Christian living.


9781415870013Mentor: How Along-the-Way Discipleship Will Change Your Life

LifeWay • 2018 • 9781462787906

Purchase: Amazon • LifeWay

Everyone desires deep, meaningful connection with others. Everyone. But to mentor or be mentored in the Christian context can change the course of your life. Something powerful happens when you do life with someone in a position to spiritually lead and influence you or when you do the same for others. Join author Chuck Lawless as he defines mentoring as a God-given relationship in which one growing believer encourages and equips another to reach his or her potential as a disciple. Drawing from biblical examples like Jesus and His disciples and Paul and Timothy, Lawless explores the life-transforming process of a mentoring relationship. (6 sessions)


9781433669705The Great Commission Resurgence: Fulfilling God's Mandate in Our Time

B&H Publishing Group • 2010 • 9781433669705

Purchase: AmazonBarnes & NobleChristianBook.comLifeWay

Following the Conservative Resurgence, Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) leaders and messengers now agree that God is calling them to a Great Commission Resurgence as the next step toward evangelistic renewal. The Great Commission Resurgence: Fulfilling God's Mandate in Our Time is a collection of clarifying essays on the biblical, theological, and practical matters related to the rising movement. It will help churches and pastors recapture an exciting vision and passion for evangelism and missions.

Several chapters were written by leaders of the appointed Great Commission Resurgence Task Force. Contributors are SBC president Johnny M. Hunt, Daniel L. Akin, Russell D. Moore (It Bleeds: A Great Commission Theology), Thom S. Rainer (Bold Mission Bust? The Present State of the Great Commission in the SBC), Albert Mohler, David Platt, Bill Henard (The Great Commission Leader), David L. Allen, Jerry Rankin, Jeff Iorg (America as a Foreign Mission Field), J. D. Greear, Troy Bush, Tom Ascol, Ed Stetzer (Mobilizing the Next Generation), and David Dockery.


9780310247586_p0_v1_s260x420Serving in Your Church Prayer Ministry

Zondervan • 2003 • 9780310247586

Purchase: AmazonBarnes & NobleChristianBook.com

Prayer is absolutely indispensable for your church. The early church was powerful because it prayed—and today, God moves in praying churches in ways that planning and programs alone can’t produce. This book is designed to help your church become more alive, more powerful, and more in love with Jesus Christ as you and your group learn and practice the secrets of effective prayer.


eating-elephantEating the Elephant: Leading the Established Church to Growth

Pinnacle Publishing • 2003 • 9780974230603

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Many church leaders have attempted the "latest" approach to growing a church, only to find the methodology is ineffective and the church members are divided. Sometimes the methodology is wrong. Sometimes the methodology is right but the pace and the timing are wrong. Internationally-recognized authorities Thom Rainer and Chuck Lawless have written Eating the Elephant to show that a church can change and grow if you move at a pace that fits the church's situation, if you eat the elephant one bite at a time.

"Unfortunately," the authors write, "many 'traditional' churches have been divided and demoralized by attempts to move the church too quickly toward relevancy. Is there a way to implement change without destroying the church in the process? We believe there is." For most of America's church leaders, that's an invitation to tie on your napkin and pull up a chair.


Lawless, Chuck, and Thom S. Rainer, eds. The Challenge of the Great Commission: Essays on God’s Mandate for the Local Church. Louisville: Pinnacle, 2005.

This work includes a series of practical essays to help church leaders better understand, focus on, and follow the Great Commission.