Close Your Church for Good

What if true church growth begins by allowing the church to die?In The Death and Resurrection of the Church, Jeremy Myers proposes that most modern church growth practices are built on faulty premises. Some of these are even rooted in the false promises that Satan offered to Jesus in the wilderness temptations.If we want the church to grow and thrive, it first needs to die to these false promises. The church must stop striving after strength, power, fame, riches, and glory, and instead follow Jesus into death. Only then will we become the church that Jesus wants.Since there can be no resurrection without death, the church must die so that it can rise again.This revised and updated book now includes discussion questions, perfect for a small group setting.Books in the "Close Your Church for Good" series:Preface: Skeleton ChurchVolume 1: The Death and Resurrection of the ChurchVolume 2: Put Service Back into the Church ServiceVolume 3: Dying to Religion and EmpireVolume 4: Church is More than Bodies, Bucks, & BricksVolume 5: Cruciform Pastoral Leadership

Churches around the world are trying to revitalize their church services. There is almost nothing they will not try. Some embark on multi-million dollar building campaigns while others sell their buildings to plant home churches. Some hire celebrity pastors to attract crowds of people, while others hire no clergy so that there can be open sharing in the service.Yet despite everything churches have tried, few focus much time, money, or energy on the one thing that churches are supposed to be doing: loving and serving others like Jesus.Put Service Back into the Church Service challenges readers to follow a few simple principles and put a few ideas into practice which will help churches of all types and sizes make serving others the primary emphasis of a church service.This revised and updated book now includes discussion questions, perfect for a small group setting.Books in the "Close Your Church for Good" series:Preface: Skeleton ChurchVolume 1: The Death and Resurrection of the ChurchVolume 2: Put Service Back into the Church ServiceVolume 3: Dying to Religion and EmpireVolume 4: Church is More than Bodies, Bucks, & BricksVolume 5: Cruciform Pastoral Leadership

How can you lead the church as Jesus wants? One of the key problems in pastoral leadership today is that few people truly understand what leadership looks like, how leaders become leaders, and what leaders are supposed to do with their leadership position. This book shows that true pastoral leadership begins at the top with the pastor, and the best way for a pastor to lead is to show the church what it looks like to follow Jesus into servanthood and death. Pastors who lead the church like Jesus will not lead the church on the upward path toward prominence and popularity, but instead onto the downward path of service and obscurity. Cruciform pastoral leadership follows Jesus into death and calls others onto the same path. Understanding this will be of immense help to pastors as they seek to lead the church by leaving the church, preach a sermon by being a sermon, show doctrine by living it, and praying more effectively by answering their own prayers. When we pastor in this way, we will truly be pastoring and shepherding the church like Jesus. We will show the church how to follow Jesus into service and sacrifice for the world. Note: This is Volume 5 in the “Close Your Church for Good” series of books: Preface: Skeleton Church Vol. 1: The Death and Resurrection of the Church, Vol. 2: Put Service Back into the Church Service, Vol. 3: Dying to Religion and Empire, Vol. 4: Church is More than Bodies, Bucks, and Bricks, and Vol. 5: Cruciform Pastoral Leadership.

Do you want to be the church? How can you, if you don't know what the church actually is? Only after you understand what the church is can you begin to properly live and function as God's church in this world. Thankfully, “Skeleton Church” simply and easily defines "church" for you, so that you can embark on the thrilling adventure of being the church and following Jesus wherever He leads. By reading this book, you will also discover answers the most basic questions all humans have about their own existence and identity. Understanding church is the first step to understanding everything! In “Skeleton Church”, Jeremy Myers provides a bare-bones basic definition of the church which then allows the reader to understand their role within human history and God's plan for the world. Furthermore, the basic definition of the church provided in this book helps create peace and unity within all types of churches around the world and throughout history. By understanding the biblical definition of church, we can fulfill the prayer of Jesus that we be one (John 17:21). Let us return to the skeleton church and grow in unity once again. And don't worry. This book does not push or emphasize any one denomination or style of church. The ideas in this book apply equally to mega-churches and house-churches, as well as to Episcopal and non-denominational churches (and everything in-between. Read this book today to begin functioning as God's people in this world.