Category: E-book Downloads

Should I do it? – You decide!

The Marriage Improvement ProjectI’m considering a new project here on the blog… and could use your input to help me decide if I should.

I’m thinking about “blogging” my couple’s marriage devotional, “The Marriage Improvement Project” for anyone who would commit to doing it for the sake of their own marriage.  If you don’t know about the MIP, it’s a couple’s devotional study I’ve put together that has helped many couples I’ve counseled.  It’s designed for both spouses to go through together, with some discussion built in.

The way I’d go about it is that I’d post one day’s devotional at a time, at an interval of every other day.

AND I’D BE DOING THIS TOTALLY FREE!

For example:

  • Saturday: I “blog” the “How To Use This Book” chapter
  • Monday: I “blog” the day 1 study
  • Wednesday: I “blog” the day 2 study
  • Friday: I “blog” the day 3 study
  • Sunday: I “blog” the day 4 study
  • Tuesday: etc. – you get the idea… until Day 40 is done.

I’m curious what you think…

Would you do the work of improving YOUR marriage if I posted it?  Talk to your spouse and let me know through the comments below!  If you don’t see it posted at a later date… nobody was interested.

Books from the PF Journal..

Sexually Abused? Need help? – Free E-BOOK – limited time

photo courtesy of "The Resurgence"

The E-book “Rid of My Disgrace” is free from The Resurgence Store for a limited time (April 2-3, 2012).

Here’s the blurb from the back of the book:

The statistics are jarring. One in four women and one in six men are or will be victims of sexual assault in their lifetime. But as sobering as the statistics are, they don’t begin to speak to the darkness and grief experienced by these victims. Because sexual assault causes physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual pain, victims need clear help, hope, and healing. In Rid of My Disgrace, a couple experienced in counseling victims of sexual assault explains how the grace of God can heal the broken and restore the disgraced.

Justin and Lindsey Holcomb outline an approach for moving from destruction to redemption. While avoiding platitudes and shallow theology, Rid of My Disgrace combines biblical and theological depth with up-to-date research. This book is primarily written for those who have been assaulted (either as children or adults) but also equips family, friends, pastors, and others to care for victims in ways that are compassionate, practical, and informed. Part of the Re:Lit series.

The Marriage Improvement Project – BOOK IS NOW AVAILABLE!!

A bit ahead of schedule,

the Marriage Improvement Project has gone to print!

It’s available for purchase (hard-copy) and FREE download (E-book pdf).

This book is a hands-on, “get ‘er done” type of book… walking married couples through some of the foundational biblical truths upon which marriage is built!  It is designed for couples to work through together, so two copies of the book are suggested!  At a discounted price for two, anyone can afford this helpful, marriage-building resource!

Here’s the blurb from the back cover…

IS IT TIME FOR A MARRIAGE IMPROVEMENT PROJECT?
Marriage was created by God to be a wonderful blessing, to every married couple and to the watching world… but time, sin, and our culture can make keeping your marriage in good repair difficult at best. In The Marriage Improvement Project (MIP), Pastor Carey Green draws on the word of God, his own marriage, and years of pastoral and marriage counseling to teach some of the foundational truths of how God intends marriage to be. The MIP is designed for spouses to complete separately (separate copies are helpful), with team projects to work on periodically together. In the MIP, you’ll explore…

  • Marriage First
  • The Cleaving Principle
  • The Unity Principle
  • Communication is Key
  • Attacking Anger
  • The Wife’s Role
  • The Husband’s Role
  • The Principle of Sexual Sanity

You can order copies for yourself, or download the free E-book version by going to the FREE RESOURCES – GROWTH RESOURCES tab at the top of the page!

And please… help me get the word out about this resource!

The Marriage Improvement Project – NEW BOOK – Now taking pre-orders!

It’s getting close!  The Marriage Improvement Project is almost ready!  Here’s the blurb from the back of the book…

Marriage was created by God to be a wonderful blessing, to every married couple and to the watching world… but time, sin, and our culture can make keeping your marriage in good repair difficult at best.  In The Marriage Improvement Project (MIP), Pastor Carey Green draws on the word of God, his  own marriage, and years of pastoral and marriage counseling to teach some of the foundational truths of how God intends marriage to be. The MIP is designed for spouses to complete separately (separate copies are helpful), with team projects to work on periodically together. In the MIP, you’ll explore…

  • Marriage First
  • The Unity Principle
  • The Cleaving Principle
  • Communication is Key
  • Attacking Anger
  • The Wife’s Role
  • The Husband’s Role
  • The Principle of Sexual Sanity

I’m very excited about this book.  It’s been a very long time in the making, and came out of my own need for a helpful resource to use in my ministry in counseling couples regarding their marriage.  My plan is to make the E-book version a free download (available by October 1, 2011), and the hard-copy book available for a cost (just to cover the printing and shipping costs, plus a small additional profit per book).  At $9.00 for one and $16.00 for two (it’s designed for each partner in the marriage to have their own copy), it’s WAY cheaper than most books of this nature and size (243 pages).

Pre-orders are now being taken… you can find out about that on my Free Resources – Growth Resources page.

Please pray that the Lord will use this book to bring about a better representation of His love for people, through the marriage OF His people!  And pass the word along to those you think may benefit from this resource!  I’d love to give away 1000 copies by the end of the 2011 year!

Pastor Dad – Gift for the Dad in your life! – FREE EBOOK

Mark Driscoll is one of my favorite speakers/pastors/authors… for two reasons.  1) He’s solid doctrinally.  2) He’s not afraid to speak the hard truth in tough ways.

He’s written a free E-book entitled “Pastor Dad” that would truly be a gift to any Dad in your life.  You can find it and download a free copy HERE (or buy a hard copy for a real hands-on type of gift)

SERIES: Identify, Assess, Equip Church Elders – Post 3: Pursuing a Candidate for Elder

OK, so you’ve done a decent job of identifying some candidates for serving as church Elder (see the previous post).   What do you do once you identify men who might be a good fit?

You should approach them, in specific but vague terms.

I know… to quote Ricky Ricardo, “You got a lot of ‘splaining” to do Lucy!”  Here’s what I mean:

SPECIFIC about what you are asking the candidate to consider…
VAGUE about what the final outcome will be…

HERE’S HOW I GO ABOUT IT:

  1. Get together with the man one-on-one, in a casual environment.
  2. Tell him you’ve noticed his heart for the Lord, his interest in the spiritual well-being of others, the spiritual fruit in his home, etc. (whatever you truly HAVE noticed)
  3. Tell him you’d like his feedback or reaction to an idea you had…
  4. HERE COMES THE SPECIFIC BUT VAGUE PART: Tell him that if he is at all interested, you would like to begin a process of exploration (a key word) together.  What you’d be exploring is the biblical role of Elder, and whether or not he has interest, gifting, or fit for serving in that role.  (The reason I say it this way is because I in NO WAY want to make the mistake of communicating that I think he should be or will be an Elder.  It’s waaaay too early for either of you to be thinking along those lines.  There is a TON of learning AND assessment that needs to take place before you begin thinking along those lines.  You ONLY want to challenge him to consider the possibility and be open to exploring the idea more.  That way both he and you will be able to know whether your idea is a good idea or a bad idea.)
  5. If he’s open… you move on… to the initial step of the exploration you’ve already mentioned.  You could do this initial step during the same conversation if he’s truly open and interested, or at a later.  In this initial step, you’d describe the process you’d like to use to do a thorough exploration of the possibility.  Include time-frames, topics of study, and tools involved as you tell him what you have in mind.  This way, he is clear on the commitment he will be making to make a thorough exploration of the subject to with you.  FOR EXAMPLE: In the process I’ve developed (found in my “Elder Training Handbook” link at the end of this post), I take a year or more to do that thorough exploration, for some very specific and important reasons (to be explained in the next post).  Your candidate needs to know all of this t up front, and be willing to commit to it.

If your experience is anything like mine, most guys of the caliber you’ve identified will at least be interested in finding out more.  But not all will be willing to make the time investment (the year or more I mentioned) in finding out if they are a good fit for the role.

That’s O.K.  In fact, it’s good for you to know… as it may be indicating that the man’s life situation, pace of life, or spiritual condition are not truly ready for the Elder role – which will be even more demanding.  If you find that to be the case with some of the men you have identified… graciously let them go.  Both of you (not to mention the church and their families) are probably better off for the time being if they don’t pursue the exploration.

If he’s game to do the longer exploration, move ahead with your thorough exploration.  BUT, make sure that you are NOT, in any way or at any time, guilty of communicating any sense of certainty about what the conclusions of your exploration together will be.  You are exploring exactly because you don’t know whether he’s a good fit for the role.  Neither does he.  Both of you need to be clear on that.

OTHER POSTS IN THIS SERIES: Post 1, Post 2

I’ve recently published my first book – “The Elder Training Handbook” that covers all of these blog posts and much more, in greater detail.  If you’d like to get a copy for yourself, go to the FREE tab at the top of this blog.  There you’ll find options for the free E-book download of the ETH, as well as an option to buy a hard-copy and have it shipped to you.

SERIES: Identify, Assess, Equip Church Elders – Post 1: My Journey

I grew up Baptist – the kind of Baptist that had “Deacons” instead of Elders.  From what I remember, they were a board of men who served alongside the Pastor, but not with much decision-making power, and certainly no spiritual oversight or shepherding responsibilities.  From what I recall, the Deacons took care of the finances and the Pastor did all the shepherding.  And the congregation voted – on EVERYTHING!  It felt like a spiritual democracy of sorts.

As I became an adult and began studying for ministry, I became aware of different models of church government.  You could say it was an awakening of sorts.  I realized that what I had grown up with was not necessarily the best, or the most Biblical model.  Over the years, I’ve had my understanding tweaked on countless occasions, and have come to see that the New Testament does give pretty clear guidance, at least regarding what the Apostles expected/intended to be the “norm” in the new covenant church.

Once I moved into positions of primary leadership in the church, I began to face the difficulties of implementing that guidance.  Every existing church has its own set of traditions regarding leadership, well examined or not.  Often, men are serving as Elders who never should have been placed in that position in the first place.  Evaluation is needed and adjustments may need to be made.  A delicate task, to say the least!

Brand new churches (of which I’ve been a part of two) have to start from scratch.  That’s a better situation in some regards (no traditions to overcome), but harder in others (not a lot of “qualified” candidates for serving as Elders).  Then you face the harsh reality of having to figure out HOW to go about the process.  You must identify good candidates, assess their qualifications and readiness, and equip them for the role.  What I’ve found is that if you take those three tasks seriously, you have a job of epic proportions on you hands!

This series of posts is about that process… It will include principles and tips to help church leaders go about the very necessary task of identifying, assessing, and equipping candidates for the role of Elder.

I’ve recently published my first book - “The Elder Training Handbook” that covers all of these blog posts in much more detail.  If you’d like to find a copy for yourself, go to the FREE tab at the top of this blog.  There you’ll find options for the free E-book download of the ETH, as well as an option to buy a hard-copy and have it shipped to you.

Just finished writing a book… not the one I thought I would…

I’ve been working on a “marriage devotional” type book for a long time… so it’s funny that something else was actually published first.  Still working on the marriage book… it will be done soon… I hope!

Anyway, I just finished “The Elder Training Handbook” – which actually came out of my own need for a tool to help me assess and train men for Eldership in the church.

You can find it on the “Free Resources” part of the blog – E-book downloads are free – Hard-copy, professionally bound copies are not, but they ARE pretty cheap!

Pass the word along to anyone who may find it useful!