The widening of political, racial, generational, and religious differences often leads to an "us vs. them" mentality all too common today. In The Sacred Overlap, author J.R. Briggs communicates a refreshing vision that embraces tension and calls us to live in radical love and faithfulness between the extremes that isolate and divide people. Read the gospels and you'll see how Jesus was committed to crossing cultural, social, political and religious either/or waters, engaging in many and/also activities. He comforted the disturbed and also disturbed the comfortable. He was too religious for the pagans and also too pagan for the religious elites. He hung out with filthy lepers and also dined with the filthy rich. He was alarming and disarming at the same time. This is not a spineless embrace of religious syncretism where we take bits from world religions, personal preferences, and ideologies and throw them into a cosmic blender for a tasty theological smoothie. Instead, Briggs offers a fresh understanding of evangelism and discipleship, showing how we need to be engaged in both of these at the same time. He shares creative ways to engage with God's mission with those who are intrigued about Jesus, but turned off by church. He explores what it means to be joyful in the midst of heart wrenching pain and suffering in the world. And he models what it means to maintain a posture of convicted civility which emphasizes equally both grace and truth. The Sacred Overlap helps readers see that Christians are called to live with their feet firmly planted in two different worlds--in both heaven and earth--living naturally with grace and truth. Only then can a Christian be a faithful witness in the way of Jesus.

The Sacred Overlap: Learning to Live Faithfully in the Space Between (Seedbed Resources)

Religion & Spirituality

Briggs, J.R.

Christian Books & Bibles

Zondervan

<ul><li>2014 Best Books About the Church from Byron Borger, Hearts and Minds Bookstore</li></ul> "I thought God had called me to plant this church. Why did we have to shut our doors after only three years?" "I was at my breaking point. Then I got the news that our nine-year-old daughter had leukemia. I would have quit ministry forever, but I had no other employable skills." "False accusations were made against me and my family, wrecking our reputation permanently and forcing us to leave not only the church, but move out of the area." "I've served my church for the past 27 years and I've grown that church from 150 to 24 people." What do we do when we've failed? Some ministries are shipwrecked by moral failures like affairs or embezzlement. But for most of us, the sense of failure is more ordinary: disillusionment, inadequacy, declining budgets, poor decisions, opposition, depression, burnout. Many pastors are deeply broken and wounded, and we come to doubt that God has any use for us. J.R. Briggs, founder of the Epic Fail Pastors Conference, knows what failure feels like. He has listened to pastors who were busted in a prostitution sting or found themselves homeless when ejected from ministry. With candid vulnerability, Briggs explores the landscape of failure, how it devastates us and how it transforms us. Without offering pat answers or quick fixes, he challenges our cultural expectations of success and gives us permission to grieve our losses. Somehow, in the midst of our pain, we are better positioned to receive the grace of healing and restoration.

Fail: Finding Hope and Grace in the Midst of Ministry Failure

Peterson, Eugene H.

Every church needs leadership. But leadership should not reside in a single pastor. The biblical model for church leadership is found in teams of elders who together guide the community into God's mission. Church leaders J.R. Briggs and Bob Hyatt provide a comprehensive picture of elders as agents of mission for their communities. Healthy eldership structures a church for mission, as elder teams model the kind of community the local church is intended to be and steward the gospel in a local context. Looking at eldership through a missiological lens, Briggs and Hyatt unpack the role, character and posture of a mission-oriented elder. Elders oversee, shepherd, teach, equip and model for God?s people what life with Jesus looks like in a particular context. Including a study guide that elder teams can work through together, the authors provide practical guidance for how elders are selected, work together, make decisions, protect the congregation and invest in the lives of others. Discover here a clear vision for what it means to be a faithful elder. May it help you and your church thrive in pursuing God's mission in the world.

Eldership and the Mission of God: Equipping Teams for Faithful Church Leadership

Hirsch, Alan

Hyatt, Bob

We become what we say. How do you grow your church in its health and mission? Sometimes our communities lack focus or vision. We lose sight of our ministry priorities, or our people don't have concrete reminders of why we do what we do. We need concise, memorable tools for cultivating culture, communicating ministry vision, and developing leaders. The language we use shapes our communities. Pastors J.R. Briggs and Bob Hyatt share seventy-five short and memorable mantras they use to cast vision, inspire ministry, and create a healthy church culture. These brief chapters provide a wealth of practical wisdom for leadership, discipleship, community, and witness, embodying best practices with vivid stories of on-the-ground ministry. These bite-sized ministry insights are ideal for church leaders to discuss with their teams and implement in their communities. They provide accessible handles for growing the health of your local church, for the sake of the kingdom.

Ministry Mantras: Language for Cultivating Kingdom Culture

What do we do when we've failed? J.R. Briggs, founder of the Epic Fail Pastors Conference, explores the landscape of failure, how it devastates us and how it transforms us. Without offering pat answers or quick fixes, he challenges our expectations of success and gives us permission to grieve our losses and receive the grace of healing and restoration.

ReadHowYouWant

Learn about the lives of Bible characters we don't often talk about, like Philip and Jeremiah and Nathan, who demonstrated some of the greatest examples of world-changing risk the Bible has to offer.

When God Says Jump: Biblical Stories That Inspire You to Risk Big

NAVPRESS *

Becoming a godly man marks the most extreme test of spiritual perseverance and mental dexterity you will ever face. Redefining Life for Men will aid you and your friends and mentors in discussions on how to utilize your individual skills and gender-specific abilities to bring God glory. • Personal study between meetings • 8 sessions

Redefining Life: For Men

Think

Transform Your Quiet Time Today’s world is all about now―a fast-moving, high-speed, on-demand lifestyle. But has this pace changed how we study the Bible? Our relationship with God is a journey, a walk where we grow closer to him each day. So it makes sense that reading and understanding scripture is a continual experience, not just a moment. This innovative devotional is designed to change how you interact with God’s Word. The Message: Solo revolves around lectio divina, or “divine reading,” an ancient approach to exploring Scripture updated for today’s readers. Each devotion delivers a unique, contemplative study that will encourage you to:<ul>
<li>
Read: Uncover biblical wisdom and revelations as you learn to read without the typical limitations that often hinder Bible reading.</li>
<li>
Think: Immerse yourself in the passages as you place yourself in the story or meditate on words and phrases.</li>
<li>
Pray: Connect with him through listening prayer and praise as you encounter new ways to communicate with God.</li>
<li>
Live: Rest, reflect, or act as you discover how to take the Word with you throughout the day.</li>
</ul>Features include:<ul>
<li>An introduction to the lectio divina style of study</li>
<li>Guided devotions with a day for reflection every week</li>
<li>A topical index for finding issues that impact your life</li>
<li>Numbered devotions so you can start anytime and never fall behind</li>
</ul>

The Message: Solo: An Uncommon Devotional

Johnson, Jan

Peckham, Katie

The Message: Solo ( An Uncommon Devotional )

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Briggs, J.R.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Briggs, J.R.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Briggs, J.R.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Sacred Overlap: Learning to Live Faithfully in the Space Between (Seedbed Resources)

Fail: Finding Hope and Grace in the Midst of Ministry Failure

Eldership and the Mission of God: Equipping Teams for Faithful Church Leadership

Ministry Mantras: Language for Cultivating Kingdom Culture

Fail: Finding Hope and Grace in the Midst of Ministry Failure

When God Says Jump: Biblical Stories That Inspire You to Risk Big

Redefining Life: For Men

The Message: Solo: An Uncommon Devotional

The Message: Solo ( An Uncommon Devotional )