These portraits are powerful and highly personal because they tell the stories. both collective and personal, of each group, revealing agreement and dissension, closeness and alienation, growth and stagnation. The result is an intimate inside look at the dynamics of small groups.

The grace period between experiencing a crisis and responding to it has vanished. With accelerated, expanded access to information and global exposure, there is no more privacy, no behind the scenes, no off-the-record for organizations or leaders at any level. "Managing" a crisis is no longer an option. Rather, today's contexts and challenges are best navigated by embracing crises, instead of struggline to control or finesse them. This shift opens exceptional opportunities for demonstrating leadership fitness under fire. The opportunities are always there. But, the transformation can only come from you. Read Come Out Stronger to stack the odds, keep people on your side, and buy time when you will need them most.

No parent tells their child that it is okay to fail. We love success! Nobody wishes to fail. Yet, failure and success are two sides of the same coin. Failure is painful, and it causes emotional turmoil, inflicting agonising pangs of guilt, regret and remorse. But those who have experienced true failure and have bounced back from it understand that failure is necessary for success. Yes, of course, failing hurts. In fact, it cuts deep like a razor, slicing its way to our inner core. Yet, it is necessary. Everyone is quick to pass judgement on failure and the person who has failed. Everyone has a reason, their own interpretation, of why the failure has happened. No one thinks of the impact on the person who has failed. But then we must also remember that repeated failure cannot be the way. To err is human, but if the eraser wears out before the pencil, you are overdoing it. How to Survive Failure and Come out Stronger covers both the practical and psychological aspects of failure and helps us understand it. It addresses various topics like why we fail, why businesses fail, why we enjoy seeing others fail, superstitions and failure, overcoming failure and how we can cope with the fear of failure. In a world that only values success, here's a must-read that tells you it's okay to fail and how to turn the worst of time to your advantage.

In this astounding account, a leading sociologist demonstrates that religion in America has become so tamed and softened that it hardly serves any of its original functions.

Much has been written about the practice of one-to-one spiritual directions, but much less about small group communities that offer in-depth mutual spiritual support and guidance to its members. But small groups are most likely the more usual setting for spiritual companionship and have strong biblical, theological and historical foundation in the Christian tradition. This book offers a detailed presentation of ten small group models, plus guidance in group leadership dynamics. It also presents material related to group retreat work, spiritual guidance with organizations and peer supervision/consultation model for supporting leaders of spiritual companionship groups and retreats. Church leaders, spiritual directors and educators are looking for the kinds of resources this book provides to assist them in understanding and leading groups and retreats.

In this helpful book, Boyung Lee offers an encouraging vision of the mainline church's future. Lee grapples with some of the greatest challenges facing the mainline church, offering compelling responses to recurring questions: What does faithfulness to the gospel look like in this changing world? What is our distinctive voice in the larger society? How does theological education have to change if it is to serve the needs of a new century? Lee argues that the church's future is a promising one if the church can offer a richer and deeper definition of community--one that moves beyond the excessive individualism of western culture and that helps mainline Christians understand their solidarity with one another and with all of God's people. Lee further explores the crucial role of faith formation at the congregational and seminary levels. More than mere schooling, theological education must engage all aspects of educators' and students' lives to prepare seminarians for the challenges that lie ahead. While not dismissing the mainline church's challenges, Lee offers congregational leaders and seminary educators a vision of a church transformed for the 21st century.

Young evangelicals in Britain often find themselves at odds with an increasingly secular society, and yet the tradition persists and in some places flourishes. Sociological studies into the faith of this demographic group are rare, yet there is much to be explored as to how their faith functions and how it compares to other groups globally. Similarly, given the privilege evangelicals afford the biblical text, how young believers engage with the ancient Scriptures they understand to be "the word of God" is particularly significant. This work addresses that core question. How do young evangelicals make sense of the Bible today? Based on qualitative data gathered from three diverse evangelical churches it compares the reading priorities, ordinary hermeneutics, and theological concerns of young adults. Presenting age-related focus groups with challenging biblical narratives, the study compares strategies for negotiating the texts based on age, gender, and churchmanship. It provides a unique insight into the realities of Bible reading and the faith of "Generation Y" and gives food for thought not only to those with scholarly interests, but also those with a pastoral concern to shape and sustain the Christian faith of young adults in Britain and beyond.