{"title":"George B Thompson Jr","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"how-to-get-along-with-your-church-book-george-b-thompson-jr-9781620326411","title":"How to Get Along With Your Church","description":"This is a book that tries to help church members step back and see the bigger picture. An effective pastoral relationship is more like a couple who loves to dance together or a band that plays wonderful music. If we spend too much time on the details, without remembering that we want to dance and sing, our church will not have much to offer to Gospel ministry. This book, then, seeks to blaze a new trail for churches who want to thrive in authentic, faithful ministry with their pastor. In other words, it is a book for churches who want to get along with their pastor. It is a book for church deacons, elders, and other officers who recognize that a healthy, trusting, respectful relationship between pastor and congregation becomes the foundation for the church's vitality. It is a book designed to give you the tools you need to help your pastor become the best pastor that she or he can be with you. Statistics show that approximately thirteen hundred American pastors unwillingly leave their congregations each month. These sudden changes have negative long-term effects on both the pastor and the congregation. Thompson believes it is extremely important to find practical, easy-to-understand ways to train pastors and churches on how to approach disagreement much more constructively, and shows how to do so in this new book. George B. Thompson Jr. is Professor of Leadership and Ministry Practice at The Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Thompson is the editor and coauthor of Alligators in the Swamp: Power, Ministry, and Leadership (2005), and author of Church on the Edge of Somewhere: Ministry, Marginality, and the Future (2007).","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50394552828177,"sku":"CIN1620326418G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51040772227345,"sku":"NIN9781620326411","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52123194687761,"sku":"NLS9781620326411","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1620326418.jpg?v=1751057306"},{"product_id":"what-hardy-found-book-george-b-thompson-9781725270565","title":"What Hardy Found","description":"Twelve-year-old Hardy has moved to the mountains with his widowed mother. The boy loves exploring the land around the family cabin, looking for signs of generations gone by. Hardy makes an unlikely friend, Lily Mae, at his new school, and she joins him on his outdoor adventures. The two amateur explorers befriend Maddy, an old woman living in an even older, remote house. When something terrible happens to Maddy, Hardy and Lily Mae are warned to stop their hunting for suppressed clues about the local history. Hardy persists anyway, and his final discovery draws him even closer to his exploring companion. Through the characters and events in this story, readers are invited to reflect on the deep struggles of race and identity in America with new insight and fresh hope.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50398424531217,"sku":"CIN1725270560VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52666513260817,"sku":"NLS9781725270565","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52753859379473,"sku":"NIN9781725270565","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1725270560.jpg?v=1751410028"},{"product_id":"welcome-to-the-one-great-story-book-george-b-thompson-9781725277311","title":"Welcome to the One Great Story!","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50398479581457,"sku":"CIN172527731XG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51985596154129,"sku":"CIN172527731XVG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52691638059281,"sku":"NLS9781725277311","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/172527731X.jpg?v=1750832323"},{"product_id":"church-on-the-edge-of-somewhere-book-george-b-thompson-jr-9781566993487","title":"Church on the Edge of Somewhere","description":"Most congregations today exist in what George Thompson calls the middle of anywhere. They live comfortably with their surrounding culture, focusing their energies on serving the needs of their current members. These congregations have many strengths and gifts that they can exercise without changing a thing. But Thompson envisions a deeper, more prophetic call for congregations to explore the meaning of being in the world but not of it--a church on the edge of somewhere. Thompson sees a church that is deeply engaged in ministering to the community while calling on others to commit to doing the same. By analyzing the interaction between a congregation's focus of identity and their stance with the world, Thompson has created a helpful grid for congregations to place themselves on today's cultural map. A congregation that sees itself as existing on the margins of society will look different than one that sees itself as embedded in society. A congregation that hears a call to serve the surrounding community will look different from one that focuses on its internal needs. Knowing where they stand now is the key for congregations to discover where they must go in the future to fully live out their call to be God's people in the world.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":50764390629649,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50764392431889,"sku":"CIN1566993482G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52332115493137,"sku":"NLS9781566993487","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1566993482.jpg?v=1759401094"},{"product_id":"how-to-get-along-with-your-pastor-book-george-b-thompson-jr-9781498231985","title":"How to Get Along with Your Pastor","description":"This is a book that tries to help church members step back and see the bigger picture. An effective pastoral relationship is more like a couple who loves to dance together or a band that plays wonderful music. If we spend too much time on the details, without remembering that we want to dance and sing, our church will not have much to offer to Gospel ministry.This book, then, seeks to blaze a new trail for churches who want to thrive in authentic, faithful ministry with their pastor. In other words, it is a book for churches who want to get along with their pastor. It is a book for church deacons, elders, and other officers who recognize that a healthy, trusting, respectful relationship between pastor and congregation becomes the foundation for the church's vitality. It is a book designed to give you the tools you need to help your pastor become the best pastor that she or he can be with you.Statistics show that approximately thirteen hundred American pastors unwillingly leave their congregations each month. These sudden changes have negative long-term effects on both the pastor and the congregation. Thompson believes it is extremely important to find practical, easy-to-understand ways to train pastors and churches on how to approach disagreement much more constructively, and shows how to do so in this new book.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51132643377425,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51132645507345,"sku":"NIN9781498231985","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52125179281681,"sku":"NLS9781498231985","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1498231985.jpg?v=1750956462"},{"product_id":"futuring-your-church-book-george-b-thompson-jr-9781498231978","title":"Futuring Your Church","description":"A vision is not a mission statement, declares George Thompson. In the throes of establishing their congregational identity, many church leaders resort to developing a mission statement which gets put in a file drawer and forgotten until the next budget review. The problem is that mission statements focus on concrete achievements; a vision, in contrast, establishes the larger picture of aim, broad purpose, and hopes. In Futuring Your Church, church leaders explore the congregation's heritage, its current context, and its theological bearings. From the insights gleaned, members can discern what God is currently calling their own church to do in this time and place. Once this vision is found, Thompson provides a simple organization model for applying the vision--for making it work. A practical, helpful tool for futuring authentic ministry. With one foot in Scripture and the other reaching toward the future, George Thompson provides marching orders for congregations that are committed to discover their options for contemporary yet faithful witness. This hands-on, step-by-step approach should give every church leader new confidence in the practical possibilities of renewal in their ministry. --Carl S. Dudley, Codirector of the Center for Social and Religious Research and Professor of Church and Community, Hartford Seminary George Thompson has given us a 'mature' work that moves beyond the oft-frustrating exercise in perfunctory and unimplemented visioning on the one hand and the vacuous mechanics of planning on the other. He is sensitive to the arts of pastoral ministry as well as to the skills of congregational and societal analysis. Futuring Your Church encourages, challenges, guides, admonishes, and reassures those committed to helping a congregation live its way into a faithful witness. --Geddes W. Hanson, Charlotte W. Newcombe Professor of Congregational Ministry, Princeton Theological Seminary George B. Thompson Jr. is Professor of Leadership and Ministry Practice at The Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Thompson is the editor and coauthor of Alligators in the Swamp: Power, Ministry, and Leadership (2005), and author of Church on the Edge of Somewhere: Ministry, Marginality, and the Future (2007).","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51132656288017,"sku":"NIN9781498231978","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52138884366609,"sku":"NLS9781498231978","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1498231977.jpg?v=1750796130"},{"product_id":"alligators-in-the-swamp-book-george-b-thompson-jr-9780829816716","title":"Alligators in the Swamp","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhat tools hold the greatest promise to assist pastors in leading congregations to be faithful witnesses for Jesus? \u003cem\u003eAlligators in the Swamp: Power, Ministry, and Leadership, \u003c\/em\u003ewith a forward by Andrew Young, attempts to answer this question. George Thompson will show you that the topic is power. Not a pie-in-the-sky, by and by version of power, but a day to day, dead-serious, in-your-face version of power. \u003cem\u003eAlligators in the Swamp\u003c\/em\u003e aims its sights and enables you to explore the practice of power in human life.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51416524816657,"sku":"CIN0829816712G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51416540840209,"sku":"CIN0829816712VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53398607692049,"sku":"GOR014904216","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0829816712.jpg?v=1750947520"},{"product_id":"treasures-in-clay-jars-book-george-b-thompson-jr-9781620320570","title":"Treasures in Clay Jars","description":"Thompson, a prolific author of church leadership resources, believes the continuing decline in membership of mainline denominations and the increasing number of multicultural and multiracial churches call for a new way of thinking: ministers must begin to see their ministry differently in order to do their ministry differently. Treasures in Clay Jars is designed to provide persons in training for ministry with a paradigm-shifting framework to interpret and work effectively with the complex dynamics of local faith communities. Thompson takes an innovative approach by utilizing explicit and relevant conceptual and theoretical tools from the social sciences--sociology, economics, and cultural anthropology--to engage future pastors to minister effectively to twenty-first-century congregations. The book discusses congregations in five different ways: as social group, as bearer of meaning, as locus of exchange, as collective capacity, and as complex organization. A study guide is included for church leaders who would like to engage their congregations in this new paradigm of ministry.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52584582021393,"sku":"NLS9781620320570","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":53407340593425,"sku":"NIN9781620320570","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9781620320570.jpg?v=1761050489"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-au\/collections\/author-books-by-george-b-thompson-jr.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}