Moody Church Leadership Collection (24 Vols.)

Childhood Education in the Church

• 628 pages
• 1986
• Authors: Robert E. Clark, Joanne Brubaker, and Roy B. Zuck

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Early training of children in the basic truths of Christianity has become an increasingly high priority in Christian circles. Written by a wide variety of experts in Christian education, this volume is designed for use in teacher training classes and for professional training in Bible colleges and seminaries. Each of the thirty-five articles explores a specific area of importance to childhood education. Together, they present a complete picture of Christian education of children.

A valuable reference source and textbook, Childhood Education in the Church is an indispensible tool for educators.

Robert E. Clark is professor of Christian education at Moody Bible Institute.

Joanne Brubaker is the former director of the Circle Center for Child Development in Zion, Illinois.

Roy B. Zuck is Senior Professor Emeritus of Bible Exposition at Dallas Theological Seminary. He is editor of Bibliotheca Sacra, available from Logos as part of the Theological Journal Library, coeditor of The Bible Knowledge Commentary He is also the author of Open Letter to a Jehovah’s Witness and the Everyman’s Bible Commentary on Job.

City on a Hill: Reclaiming the Biblical Pattern for the Church in the 21st Century

• 209 pages
• 2003
• Author: Philip Graham Ryken

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Many sincere and dedicated Christians point to the path of relevance as a means for enjoying a post-Christian witness. They want to explore new ways of doing church—ways that focus on seekers’ needs, which appeal to today’s entertainment-saturated audiences, and don’t make church difficult. Philip Ryken, however, sees danger ahead. Rather than confronting the relativistic and narcissistic mindset of our world, this way may very well accommodate it.

In City on a Hill, Ryken asserts that the church needs to walk a different path—a biblical path which leads to exalting God and him alone by:

• Proclaiming the saving work of our crucified and risen Lord, Jesus Christ.
• Focusing on our holy God in our personal and corporate worship.
• Reaching out in Christ’s love to care for one another and share the Good News with the world

When the church does what it was called to do, it will give the world what it needs most—the life-giving message that Jesus Christ is Savior and Lord.

Philip Graham Ryken received his M.Div. from Westminster Theological Seminary and his D.Phil. from the University of Oxford. He is senior minister of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, where he has preached since 1995.

Creative Bible Teaching, Revised & Expanded

• 350 pages
• 1998
• Authors: Gary J. Bredfeldt and Lawrence O. Richards

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Many of us teach the Bible in small groups, Sunday school, or home school classes. We study, prepare, and present material. But is our best good enough? Are we just sharing knowledge, or are we leading students into a growing relationship with God and his Word?

In Creative Bible Teaching, authors Lawrence Richards and Gary Bredfeldt focus on how to better understand the Bible we teach and how to unleash the transforming power of Scripture.

Five practical sections include specific ideas on how to:

• Study the Bible
• Focus the message
• Structure the lesson
• Teach the class
• Evaluate the results

Creative Bible Teaching will become a foundational book in your library. A practical model for teaching and a classic educational reference book, it will renew your enthusiasm for teaching God’s Word.

Lawrence O. Richards received his B.A. from the University of Michigan, his Th.M. from Dallas Theological Seminary, and his Ph.D. from Northwestern University. He is an author and speaker living in Hudson, Florida, and has written over seventy books.

Gary J. Bredfeldt is the chair of the department of Educational Ministries at the Moody Bible Institute of Chicago.

Directing Christian Education: The Changing Role of the Christian Education Specialist

• 320 pages
• 1992
• Authors: Robert J. Choun, Jr. and Michael S. Lawson

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"Christian Education Director," "Youth Minister," and "Minister of Christian Education" are common job titles for educators in the church. Michael Lawson and Robert Choun, Jr. combine these important positions into the term "Christian Education Specialist" and apply it in a comprehensive fashion, whether for youth or adults.

This book will help the Christian education specialist divide the various responsibilities of Christian education into workable tasks. The authors include eight sample job descriptions from churches of different sizes.

If you are overwhelmed with responsibilities covering everything from nursery to budgets to retreats, looking for encouragement in handling relationships with church staff, or seeking ways to help volunteer leaders, this book will prove to be a valuable resource. Besides giving you a biblical foundation for your job in Christian education, these pages will give you specific help to get your church education in top shape.

Michael S. Lawson is professor of Christian education at Dallas Theological Seminary. He has contributed to many education volumes and serves as president of the Professional Association of Christian Educators.

Robert J. Choun, Jr. is professor of Christian education at Dallas Theological Seminary. He is coauthor of What the Bible is All About.

Elders and Leaders: God’s Plan for Leading the Church, A Biblical, Historical, and Cultural Perspective

• 368 pages
• 2003
• Author: Gene Getz

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Gene Getz was used to having all the answers. So when his seminary students started asking questions he wasn’t prepared to answer, he abandoned the syllabus and led his students on a soul-searching journey through the Scriptures. Now after thirty years of hands-on experience and continued biblical research, the former professor turned church planter delivers what he’s convinced is God’s plan for church leadership in Elders and Leaders: God’s Plan for Leading the Church. No church leader or leader-in-training should be without this valuable resource!

Gene Getz is host and teacher of Renewal Radio, has been a professor at Moody Bible Institute and Dallas Theological Seminary, and has authored more than sixty books. He has been a church-planting pastor in the Dallas-Fort Worth area since 1972 and now serves as president of the Center for Church Renewal and pastor emeritus of Fellowship Bible Church North in Plano, Texas.

This book is going to revolutionize your thinking, liberate your ministry, and become an overnight classic!
—Bruce Wilkinson, author of The Prayer of Jabez

My good friend and spiritual mentor Gene Getz has provided the church with a must-read book for all who wish to understand and apply God’s clearly outlined plan for leading his people.
—Tony Evans

Whatever your denominational orientation might happen to be, this book is a must read. Our dear friend, teacher, leader, and scholar, Gene Getz, has given us his magnum opus!
—Stephen F. Olford and David L. Olford

Follow Me As I Follow Christ

• 208 pages
• 2000
• Author: Cheryl J. Dunlop

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Do you long to see the children in your class follow Christ? Do you wish you had better training as a teacher?

Follow Me As I Follow Christ is your all-inclusive handbook to teaching children about the love their Savior offers—whether it be in Sunday school, midweek programs, Vacation Bible School, day camp, or any other church or para-church setting.

Cheryl Dunlop has taught hundreds of children in settings ranging from camp counseling to teaching Sunday school, club programs, and vacation Bible school; from babysitting to interacting with neighborhood children.

Each page brims with Cheryl’s enthusiasm for teaching children about God. As you study the lessons—one for each week of the year—you will catch a new vision and excitement for the wondrous opportunity you’ve been given to impart God’s truth to his little ones. Cheryl focuses on developing your relationship with your students, and she highlights how important it is to ground each and every lesson in Scripture.

Written for all teachers, from first time children’s club workers to season Sunday school veterans, here is a wealth of tested information you can turn to again and again. As you apply the savvy insights in this book to your teaching, you will gain new confidence in your ministry to children. Armed with these precepts for effective teaching, you can effectively lead children to follow you as your follow Christ.

Cheryl J. Dunlop has taught Sunday school and related programs since 1980. As general editor at Moody Press, she received her B.A. in Communications from Moody Bible Institute and graduated from Child Evangelism Fellowship’s Leadership Training Institute. Cheryl lives on the West Side of Chicago.

Growing a Healthy Church (With Study Guide)

• 272 pages
• 1991
• Authors: Dann Spader and Gary Mayes

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Sheep swapping. Shuffling of the Saints. Whatever you call it, many churches are growing only because Christians transfer from one church to another. What’s more, many churches aren’t growing at all.

The problem, according to authors Dann Spader and Gary Mayes, is that too many church calendars are filled with outdated, mediocre programs that have become more of a burden than a blessing. That, coupled with the fact that these programs minister almost exclusively to Christians, leaves little for non-Christians seekers to get excited about.

Growing a Healthy Church is not a list of trendy new programs for your church agenda. It is a journey of rediscovery. Dann Spader and Gary Mayes look closely at the four stages of spiritual growth in relation to outreach. Using the innovative “M-level” system, these gifted men show how a church can minister to all individuals regardless of their levels of maturity in potential service. This helps eliminate the mistakes of forcing new Christians into service that may overwhelm them or may leave the mature Christian unchallenged.

Proven successful through SonLife and churches who have used this system, this resource will help you focus on the simplicity of Christ’s ministry, enabling you to build an effective discipling strategy for your church.

Dann Spader is director of SonLife Ministries and a former youth pastor. He and his wife, Charlene, have two children.

Gary Mayes is a pastor at Faith Community Church in Santa Ana, California. He has served as a consultant and trainer with SonLife Ministries. He and his wife, Margaret, have two children.

How to Prepare Sermons

• 160 pages
• 1964
• Author: William Evans

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This practical book supplies ministers and theological students, as well as laymen who are called upon to preach, with a helpful tool for their ministry. It is not an attempt at a complete and exhaustive treatment of homiletics but rather a clearly outlined guide for study, selection of sermon texts and themes, and sermon building.

How to Prepare Sermons has been written in a conversational tone which will give it wide usefulness. In its preparation, Dr. Evans has drawn upon his extensive education and priceless years of experience as a pastor, preacher, and Bible instructor. The material is personal, practical, and easily understood.

After establishing definition of the terms under consideration, Dr. Evans examines the value of the personality of the preacher, the voice and interpretation of the text and theme, and the gathering and arranging of the sermonic materials employed. He then gives close attention to the introduction, body, and conclusion of the sermon, the various types of sermons, and the use and abuse of illustrations. The concluding section of the book contains sermon outlines which illustrate the material discussed in the preceding pages.

William Evans was born in Liverpool, England, in 1870, and educated in private schools in England. Upon graduating from Liverpool College, William Evans came to America to continue his studies, first at the Moody Bible Institute, then at the Lutheran Theological Seminary and the Chicago Theological Seminary, all in Chicago.

Following several successful years in various Presbyterian pastorates, he was appointed Director of the Bible Course of Moody Bible Institute, in which office he served for fifteen years. After three years as dean of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, Dr. Evans devoted his time to directing Bible conferences throughout the United States and Canada. He authored more than forty volumes on biblical interpretation.

William Evans died in 1950.

Making Peace: A Guide to Overcoming Church Conflict

• 272 pages
• 2002
• Author: Jim Van Yperen

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Church conflict is neither isolated nor uncommon. Pastors, governing boards, and denominational leaders spend a major portion of their time each year assessing, mediating, and reconciling church conflicts. You may be facing some level of conflict in your church right now.

Making Peace collects the lessons and experience of more than ten years of work in church conflict resolution. Jim Van Yperen shares why churches become unhealthy and how God wants to heal them so they may become thriving communities of faith.

Making Peace is a “why” book, not a “how-to” book. The lordship of Jesus Christ, not method, should be the object and subject of your search for answers. The promise of Scripture is that God will allow nothing into your life that you are not able to bear through faith in him. Whatever conflict or crisis your church may now be facing, God will provide a way out or a way through for your good and his glory.

Jim Van Yperen is the founder and executive director of Metanoia Ministries, a non-profit Christian ministry serving evangelical churches in conflict reconciliation and leadership formation. He has served hundreds of pastors and dozens of conflicted churches in the past decade, including serving six churches as an interim pastor. Jim and his wife, Sharon, are the parents of two adult children and reside on a small sheep farm in East Washington, New Hampshire.

Outbreak!: Creating a Contagious Youth Ministry Through Viral Evangelism

• 263 pages
• 2002
• Author: Greg Stier

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Youth leaders today are frustrated. Most of them originally got into youth ministry not because of the pay but because of the payoff—they have a passion to see kids reached for Christ, and have a burning desire to see souls saved and lives changed. The problem is that as the months give way to years, the machinery of ministry and the pressure of politics douses the hottest of flames and crushes the strongest resolve.

The purpose of this book is not to complain about the current state of youth ministry but to do something about it. Outbreak! is about the hope that God will raise up a new kind of youth leader who will do what it takes to enlist fully committed disciples, and about the hope that the Church will produce a new kind of student prophet who speaks forth God’s Word. It’s about the hope that from the ashes of failed experiments God will create a new paradigm for effective youth ministry. Outbreak! is ideal for pastors, youth pastors, and churches looking to breathe new life into their youth ministry programs.

Greg Stier is the cofounder and president of Dare 2 Share Ministries International in Arvada, Colorado. Greg was also the cofounder and preaching pastor at Grace Church of Arvada from 1989 to 2000. Greg attended Liberty University and is a graduate of Colorado Christian University.

I can’t wait for my youth ministry to be influenced by this material.
—Doug Fields, Pastor to Students, Saddleback Church, and author, Purpose Driven Youth Ministry

Greg has a true heart for evangelism, and in Outbreak!, he has developed a powerful tool to help you lead the charge for effective outreach in youth ministry.
—Josh McDowell

Power in the Pulpit: How to Prepare and Deliver Expository Sermons

• 400 pages
• 1999
• Authors: Jerry Vines and Jim Shaddix

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Are you the best preacher you can be? In Power in the Pulpit, Jerry Vines and Jim Shaddix provide practical help specifically to those charged with the responsibility of delivering weekly sermons. You’ll learn:

• The preparation for exposition. You’ll see how engaging in expository preaching demands that the preacher have certain conviction about his call to ministry, the Bible, his worship, and the ongoing work of God in his life.
• The process of exposition. The authors trace the stages through which the preacher must travel in order to illuminate a text of Scripture and prepare a compelling expository sermon.
• The presentation of the exposition. Here you’ll find the nuts and bolts of effective sermon delivery—after all, successful preaching lies largely in its presentation and communication.

Sermon preparation and delivery are two of the most fulfilling and frustrating experiences anyone can undertake. This book will reduce the frustration and increase the fulfillment. Whether you are a student learning the craft of preaching, or a veteran, Power in the Pulpit will provide you with a rich reservoir of fresh ideas and inspiration.

Dr. Jerry Vines is pastor of First Baptist Church, Jacksonville, Florida. He served two