The Choice: The Christ-Centered Pursuit of Kingdom Outcomes - Hardcover

Gary G. Hoag; R. Scott Rodin; Wesley K. Willmer

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1936233207 ISBN 13: 9781936233205

Publisher: ECFAPress, 2014

Synopsis

This book addresses what may be the most important and yet most unexamined presupposition related to ministry today defining success. Secular values beckon us to adopt the world's way of thinking linked to most everything we do, and often we conform to cultural norms without even knowing it. There is the continual push for higher and greater results. When we idolize results that we think please Him, we actually fail to exhibit the obedience He asks of us.

So what should ministry look like? Jesus instructs us to follow Him. When we do we find ten characteristics from Christ¹s earthly ministry that are also evident in the early church. We call this the kingdom path. This book points the way and invites each and every reader to make the choice to take it.

If this sounds oversimplified to you, candidly, we think we are the ones who have complicated things. Remember, Jesus recruited ordinary, mostly uneducated people and gave them basic instructions. He used words like "follow," "trust," and "obey." Are we following His clear instructions? When we pursue the kingdom path, then fruitfulness, or kingdom outcomes, are the by-product. The kingdom path is the only path that leads to kingdom outcomes.

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About this title

About the Author:

Gary G. Hoag

Gary G. Hoag, PhD, has dedicated his life to encouraging Christian generosity as the Generosity Monk. He provides spiritual and strategic counsel for denominational leaders on nurturing a culture of generosity in local church settings and helps ministry leaders rally God s people to participate with them in God s work. He formerly served as vice president of advancement at Denver Seminary and Colorado Christian University. He currently lectures and teaches at seminaries around the world. He coauthored The Sower: Redefining the Ministry of Raising Kingdom Resources, served as a content reviewer for the NIV Stewardship Study Bible, and has authored chapters in other books as well as numerous articles. He has also volunteered on the following boards: Association of Theological Schools Development and Institutional Advancement Professionals (ATS DIAP), Christian Stewardship Association (CSA), and Christian Leadership Alliance (CLA).

R. Scott Rodin

R. Scott Rodin, PhD, has a passion for helping Christian ministries take a biblical approach to strategic planning, board development, and capital campaign fundraising. For twenty-nine years he has served as counsel, coach, and trainer to not-for-profit organizations in the United States, Canada, the Middle East, Great Britain, China, and Australia. He leads Rodin Consulting Inc. and is past president of the Christian Stewardship Association and of the Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. He is a Senior Fellow of the Association of Biblical Higher Education and serves on the boards of ChinaSource and the Evangelical Environmental Network. He coauthored The Sower: Redefining the Ministry of Raising Kingdom Resources and other books including: The Million-Dollar Dime, The Third Conversion, The Steward Leader, The Seven Deadly Sins of Christian Fundraising, and Stewards in the Kingdom.

Wesley K. Willmer

Wesley K. Willmer, PhD, CCNL, currently serves as senior vice president of advancement for Prison Fellowship Ministries. Throughout his career of more than four decades, he has initiated and directed more than $1 million in research grants to study nonprofit management practices, and he is responsible for twenty-four books and many professional journal articles. Besides consulting with a wide variety of ministries, he has served as a volunteer on numerous boards, including serving for six years as the chair of the Christian Stewardship Association, being a founding board member of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education s (CASE) Commission on Philanthropy, serving as vice chair of the ECFA (Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability) board, and being a founding board member of the Christian Leadership Alliance (CLA).

Review:

I just about used an entire highlighter. The book starts strong, with excellent observations that distinguish between the world's view of success and what the Bible and the life of Christ have to say. Then, it gets stronger with so many profound questions and practical ways to move toward the viewpoint of Scripture. Honestly, this book describes the way I know I should lead and the way that I want to lead, but too often don t lead. However, I didn't feel like the book was beating me up, I felt like it was lifting me up and encouraging me to press on, seek true success and lead well. I so concur with the book s viewpoint that unexamined presuppositions drive everything we, as leaders do. The myriad of voices in our culture drive us to almost instinctively measure success by more instead of by flourishing biblically. The ten marks of Christ-centered ministry are clear, practical and convicting. This isn't a book that I will just read; it is a book that I can use to help me be a more Christ-centered leader. --David Wills, President, National Christian Foundation

The Choice belongs on the reading list of every Christian leader. It may be the most liberating leadership book I've ever read. It frees us from the chains of earthly measurement and challenges us to examine how God measures the success of our endeavors and how we should, too. Perhaps best of all, I have the privilege of knowing the authors personally, and I can testify that these are no armchair theologians. They have tested these lessons in their lives and work. --Jim Liske, President & CEO, Prison Fellowship Ministries

When it comes to running our churches and ministries, it requires a consuming adoration for the Savior not to become seduced by the ways of our culture. The Choice helps us turn away from those siren calls that can drown out the Spirit s guiding whispers, 'This is what Jesus meant; here is the kingdom path; just walk in it.' This book is so timely for today s Christian leaders I highly recommend it.
----Joni Eareckson Tada, Founder, Joni and Friends International Disability Center

The Choice belongs on the reading list of every Christian leader. It may be the most liberating leadership book I've ever read. It frees us from the chains of earthly measurement and challenges us to examine how God measures the success of our endeavors and how we should, too. Perhaps best of all, I have the privilege of knowing the authors personally, and I can testify that these are no armchair theologians. They have tested these lessons in their lives and work. --Jim Liske, President & CEO, Prison Fellowship Ministries

--Jim Liske, President & CEO, Prison Fellowship Ministries

When it comes to running our churches and ministries, it requires a consuming adoration for the Savior not to become seduced by the ways of our culture. The Choice helps us turn away from those siren calls that can drown out the Spirit s guiding whispers, 'This is what Jesus meant; here is the kingdom path; just walk in it.' This book is so timely for today s Christian leaders I highly recommend it. --Joni Eareckson Tada, Founder, Joni and Friends International Disability Center

--Joni Eareckson Tada, Founder, Joni and Friends International Disability Center

About this edition

• Publisher: ECFAPress
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1936233207
• ISBN 13: 9781936233205
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 130