How do you prepare for Pentecost? As followers of Christ, we are invited to become Easter people filled with the Holy Spirit. The Resurrection is the center of the Christian faith. Without it there would be no Christian story, Christian church, or Christian way of life. Did you know that the Christian calendar sets aside a season of 50 days between Easter and Pentecost? The Easter season, sometimes called Eastertide, includes our Lord's ascension and leads to the Day of Pentecost, when Christ...

This resource takes the place of both The Upper Room Handbook on Emmaus and The Upper Room Handbook on Chrysalis. It explains the ins and outs, and the whys and hows of all four Upper Room Emmaus Ministries—The Walk to Emmaus, Chrysalis, Face to Face, and Journey to the Table. The Emmaus Ministries Community Manual provides a comprehensive overview and explanation for the Emmaus movement and all of the ministries, both from theological and technical perspectives. The handbook answers many que...

Where is God when we are hurting or in despair? How can we find hope even when we feel hopeless? Pain, struggle, and despair are part of life, and they test our character as God's people. John Wimmer approaches these challenges to our faith realistically and thoughtfully. He does not offer easy answers or platitudes like "Everything happens for a reason." We can't always understand or control many things that happen to us, but we can choose how we respond to our circumstances. Wimmer encourag...

Drawing on the roots of early Methodists, Philip Meadows urges readers to use the act of "remembering their baptism" to connect themselves to their own discipleship and mission. This will result in the daily shaping of their Christian lives by personal and corporate spiritual discipline, which is itself decidedly baptismal in character. When church communities of every size remember their baptism, they hold one another accountable for the life of disciplined discipleship and everyday witness....

Many small membership churches today are faced with the sobering reality of attendance loss and overall decline. This resource provides a guide to help you find hope, alternatives, and the possibility of a new beginning. Included are tools to help you measure your church's vitality, evaluate the results, and diagnose your church's condition, along with several options for treatment plans as you seek to faithfully serve your community. Remember that we can choose our story. If we believe in ou...

This handbook encourages short-term mission volunteers to reflect on the reasons why they engage in mission and how they plan and prepare to be more intentional. It helps volunteers shape the stories of their mission experiences in a way that enhances their personal and spiritual journeys. This is the Participant's Book. The Leader's Guide, God's Mission, Our Journey, can be found here.

This handbook encourages short-term mission volunteers to reflect on the reasons why they engage in mission and how they plan and prepare to be more intentional. It helps volunteers shape the stories of their mission experiences in a way that enhances their personal and spiritual journeys. This is the Participant's Book. The Leader's Guide, God's Mission, Our Journey, can be found here.

Este manual anima a las personas misioneras voluntarias en misiones de corto tiempo a reflexionar sobre las razones por las que se comprometen en una misión y cómo planifican y se preparan para ser más intencionales en su misión. Ayuda a las personas voluntarias a dar forma a las historias de sus experiencias en la misión de manera que mejoren sus peregrinajes tanto de forma espiritual como personal. Este es el libro del participante. La guía del líder; God’s Mission, Our Journey (La misión...

Cities across the world celebrate Mardi Gras with colorful parades and over-the-top parties. Then Ash Wednesday arrives … Sigh. Lent has begun. You hear about devout friends giving up seemingly innocent things like chocolate or stressing out as they try to live a more perfect life during six grueling weeks—for reasons you don't completely understand. Sermons about penitence are preached, and guilt soaks the congregation. Sound like a good time?! It's time to rethink Lent. Or at least see it f...

With more than 6 million people in the United States living with Alzheimer's disease and more than 11 million Americans providing unpaid care for people with Alzheimer's or other dementias, addressing the concerns of these elders and their caregivers is a matter of increasing importance. Relying on their many years of experience in this area, gerontologist Jane Marie Thibault and Richard L. Morgan offer this book to provide a fresh, hopeful model of dealing with Alzheimer's and other forms of...