Thursday, April 23, 2020

The PC(USA) Store: How Do You Live Your Faith?

New Books
for Study & Self-Discovery!

This year has already and continues to present challenges to us that we never expected. It's also shone a light on opportunities. We've seen more clearly how inequalities that already existed are exponentially increased in a crisis; the necessity for making sure our government is helping to meet people's needs has never been more apparent; our pastor's work lives have been shown in more detail through online ministry; and, sadly, the reality of church closure has pushed itself even closer to the forefront.

These books below are meant to address these issues. Whether using them individually or with a study group or committee, they will provide guidance as we continue to work through this crisis together and as we eventually rebuild.
“Faith is a verb.
It's meant to be practiced.”
—from Practicing
In Practicing, Pastor Kathy Escobar inspires and challenges readers with practical encouragement to live their faith through real action using ten transformational practices. Extremely interactive, relational, and practical, Practicing can be read alone or processed together with a group, church, or class.

In Practicing you'll discover that you have more power to change the world than you realize—and it starts with changing yourself.
PERFECT FOR
  • Group or congregation-wide study and discussion
  • Personal reading and reflection
  • Church leadership team group read
“Christian faith yields a harvest of healthy grieving: the recognition that loss, while painful, is also transitory; that God is present in the darkness.”
—from The Last Pastor
Gail Cafferata was heartbroken when the church she pastored voted to close its doors. It may have been the right decision, but it led to a million questions. This led Cafferata to conduct a study of over 130 pastors.

This book weaves the study results with an engaging narrative to offer readers the experience of grace and growth through their willingness to faithfully steer their own journey.
PERFECT FOR
  • Personal reading and reflection for pastors and church leaders
  • Church leadership team group read
  • Group or congregation-wide reading to help understand the issues
“Until we can take a good, hard look at who we are as white people, how we operate in the world, and what the systems are that maintain the status quo, race relations in America will not improve.”
You don’t have to be wearing a white hood or shouting racial epithets to be complicit in America’s racist history and its ongoing systemic inequality. In Good White Racist?, Kerry Connelly exposes the ways white people participate in, benefit from, and unknowingly perpetuate racism—despite their best “good person” intentions.
PERFECT FOR
  • Group or congregation-wide study and discussion
  • Personal reading and reflection
  • Matthew 25 churches and leadership teams who are committing to the focus of dismantling structural racism
“The gospel is about more than just converting people to our religion. It’s about meeting the needs of people, especially those people who are in very vulnerable situations.”
Running for Our Lives is the authentic story of how one pastor tried to make a difference. Through all the joys and struggles of daring to make a stand, Ryerse shares what he's learned about how our political identities shape us, what the role of government has in helping to meet people's needs, and how others can get involved in politics as an expression of progressive faith.
PERFECT FOR
  • Sermon inspiration during the 2020 election season
  • Personal reading and reflection
  • Youth and young adult groups who want to learn more about faithfully getting involved in politics
“Congregations can experience more vitality, not less, after switching to part-time clergy.”
Readers of Part-Time Is Plenty get a much-needed playbook for helping congregations thrive with a part-time ministry model.

They learn to see the model in a new light: to stop viewing part-time as a problem to be eradicated and to instead embrace it as a divine gift that facilitates a higher level of lay engagement, responsibility, playfulness, and creativity.
PERFECT FOR
  • Personal reading and reflection for committees and church leaders
  • Church leadership team or session group read
  • Lay-leader and volunteer group reading to work toward making a plan
“God is calling us to get to know our Muslim neighbors. They are children of God like everyone else.”
—from Neighbors
In Neighbors, Deanna Ferree Womack lays the groundwork for Christians and Muslims to understand, converse, and cooperate with each another.
Ideal for individual or group study, the book includes discussion guide for group study with links to video clips, a timeline of the first Muslim communities, and a glossary of Arabic terms related to Islam.
PERFECT FOR
  • Group or congregation-wide study and discussion
  • Personal reading and reflection
  • Matthew 25 churches and leadership teams who are committing to the focus of dismantling structural racism
Free Resources
Here is this week's free story with corresponding activities for April 26 and a pack of three coloring pages from the children's curriculum, Growing in Grace and Gratitude.

Access additional free and reduced-price digital resources for leadership, group study, and personal spirituality.
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