Messy Church
Ross Parsley
Paperback, 208 pp., $14.99
David C. Cook (July 1, 2012)

When God created the church, He didn’t build a corporation. He created a family. We are not called to be consumers who ask what the church can offer us. Instead, we are called to be a family, loving deeply, fighting fairly, and bringing hope to a new generation. A true family is where we are known, loved, accepted, and ultimately, where our deepest needs are met.

Vertical Church
James MacDonald
Hardcover, 320 pp., $22.99
David C. Cook (August 1, 2012)

Church is about God. God’s glory. God’s Son. God’s Word. God’s presence. End of discussion. People come to church to meet with God, to worship God, to h ear from God. And yes, to experience God. God wants to be experienced, but we grieve His Spirit and push Him out of the church. The church His great Son founded. When did it all become so horizontal? Why was God shown the door in the name of reaching people? God is reaching people. But not the way most think.

Creature of the Word
Matt Chandler, Eric Geiger, Josh Patterson
Paperback, 256 pp., $14.99
B&H Books (October 1, 2012)

When the gospel is rightly declared and applied to God’s people, the church becomes “a creature of the Word.” She understands, embraces, and lives out the reality of Christ’s birth, life, death, and resurrection in more than her doctrinal statement. Authors Matt Chandler, Eric Geiger, and Josh Patterson give practical steps toward forming a gospel-centered church, in a centering discussion piece for those whose goal is to be part of a church that has its theology, culture, and practice completely saturated in the gospel.

The Measure of Our Success
Shawn Lovejoy
Paperback, 183 pp., $14.99
Baker Books (May 1, 2012)

How do pastors measure success? Is it through the number of people who fill the pews on Sunday morning? Is it tied to programs, building projects, salary, or book deals? Is it about how much technology they use or what their worship band sounds like? Shawn Lovejoy has seen all of these measures of success lead pastors toward pride, self-reliance, loneliness, isolation, exhaustion, and, in the most extreme cases, self-destruction. In this honest and encouraging book, he calls pastors back to the “main thing”–the call to love people and make disciples.

Redeeming Church Conflict
Tara Klena Barthel and David V. Edling
Paperback, 256 pp., $16.99
Baker Books (May 1, 2012)

Turn church conflict into an opportunity for grace. If properly approached, church conflicts can be used for spiritual growth for both individuals and entire churches. Redeeming church conflicts–making something glorious out of something painful–provides evidence to a watching world that the gospel is real and powerful. In this hope-filled and practical book, two church conflict resolution experts take you through the Acts 15 model of approaching conflict in order to provide a clear, godly way forward into redemptive reconciliation.