Rosario Picardo was a recently divorced and slightly jaded ex-Marine when he heeded God's call to plant «a church for broken people.» This book chronicles the struggles and triumphs of Embrace Church, from its beginnings in his basement as a rare urban church plant to a multi-campus congregation that reaches hundreds of folks broken by poverty, burned by Christians, and in need of healing grace. By telling his story, Picardo hopes to inform, inspire, and encourage seminary students, future...
Ministry Makeover examines the decline within the church, especially the United Methodist Church (UMC), and some causes for this decline. It calls for a reforming of United Methodist structure and polity by drawing more attention to the value of the bi-vocational model of ministry and a re-visitation of the Wesleyan/United Brethren view and historical perspective. This book establishes a solid theological foundation upon which to build this shift and it goes a step beyond typical ecclesiology...