Eddie Gibbs

Churches across the Western world have become increasingly fragmented and marginalized, often struggling to survive. Here Eddie Gibbs, a bestselling author and veteran church and culture expert, addresses the challenges of re-imagining the church in a post-Christian world. He gleans critical biblical insights from the early church's experience to help contemporary leaders and churches minister more effectively. Gibbs compares and contrasts the social and cultural context of the twenty-first century with the first century, exploring what can be learned about the birthing of churches in the book of Acts and in Paul's letters. He identifies the issues Paul faced in order to sustain a movement growing exponentially and considers what lessons might be learned in addressing current challenges in the church. The book examines vital issues not only for the survival of the church but also for its revitalization and rebirth, and provides direction for local churches on becoming agents of mission.

In his most intimate book yet, Eddie Gibbs articulates a personal philosophy of ministry born from his storied career in teaching and pastoral ministry. Through images from his own life, Gibbs shows how effective ministry is a matter of walking slowly with the family of God and offers models for connecting in a fragmented technological age.

In The Missional Leader, consultants Alan Roxburgh and Fred Romanuk give church and denominational leaders, pastors, and clergy a clear model for leading the change necessary to create and foster a missional church focused outward to spread the message of the Gospel into the surrounding community. The Missional Leader emphasizes principles rather than institutional forms, shows readers how to move away from “church as usual,” and demonstrates what capacities, environments, and mindsets are required to lead a missional church.

Our culture is constantly changing, as fast as - or faster than - we can adapt to it. In this context Christian leaders have not only to acquire new insights and skills, but also to unlearn what they previously knew. Even our definition of leadership is under review. In this sequel to the acclaimed 'Church Next', Eddie Gibbs examines how Christian leadership might change in the light of new cultural conditions. He considers recent developments in leadership styles, from hierarchies to networks and compartments to connections, and assesses the dynamics of leadership teams. Having specified the healthy characteristics of Christian leaders, he then explains how they can be identified and nurtured. This incisive analysis, from an expert in church growth, will serve as a comprehensive resource for current and potential Christian leaders, and those who teach and mentor them.

The church has always been potentially just one generation away from extinction. But now, with a generation of under-thirty-five-year-olds turning away from institutional expressions of Christianity, churches in the West recognize that they face a challenge that is more urgent and radical than it has been for many generations. In this acclaimed study, the authors identify some of the major storm centres through which churches must navigate, not in order to return to a previously more tranquil world, but to enter an entirely new one. They look at mission, church structures, developing new leaders and mentoring, worship, spirituality and evangelism, and ask how our ministry must change in order to serve a new generation of Christians.

A 2001 Christianity Today Book of the YearWhat will the church be next? CHANGE IS NOW. Competition from nontraditional and Eastern religions join with the pressures of both modernism and postmodernism to squeeze Christianity. While new church models have sprung up to meet these challenges, they each have strengths and limitations. Eddie Gibbs, a well-known church strategist and practitioner, candidly analyzes these models while proposing nine areas in which the church will need to transform to be biblically true to its message and its mission to the world. With vigor and insight Gibbs shows how we can movefrom living in the past to engaging the presentfrom being market driven to being mission orientedfrom following celebrities to encountering saintsfrom holding dead orthodoxy to nurturing living faithfrom attracting a crowd to seeking the lostHere is a book that brings together deep understanding of the quantum shifts taking place in our culture along with concrete suggestions for implementing a proactive mission strategy.