Wondering what resources have been reviewed in the Congregational Resource Guide (CRG) since your last visit? In addition to the items featured under "What's New" on the front page, here are 25 more resources recently added. Click on the resource title to read a full review of the resource. Click on the category names to learn more about the categories in which each resource is included.

•  Reviewed 3/10:
The Pastoral Search Journey: A Guide to Finding Your Next Pastor (Book)
Offering a comprehensive map through the pastoral search process, John Vonhof guides boards in forming the search committee. He then guides search committees as they set strategies, establish priorities, and complete tasks.
Found under Pastoral Search.

•  Reviewed 2/10:
In the Midst of Chaos: Caring for Children as a Spiritual Practice (Book)
This book offers a personal and illuminating look at how parents can sustain—for themselves and their children—a life of faith in the midst of the turbulent, often overwhelming, and unscripted world of family life.
Found under Children's Ministries; Practices.

•  Reviewed 2/10:
Singing and Making Music: Issues in Church Music Today (Book)
The author of this essay collection argues that scriptural principles should inform a church's music ministry. He then challenges assumptions about music in the church, and offers practical suggestions for change.
Found under Music.

•  Reviewed 2/10:
The Sacred Selves of Adolescent Girls: Hard Stories of Race, Class, and Gender (Book)
Through the stories of a diverse group of young women, this book explores the impact of various forms of oppression—including racism and sexism—on the spiritual formation of adolescent girls.
Found under Youth Ministry; Family Ministry.

•  Reviewed 2/10:
Living Our Story: Narrative Leadership and Congregational Culture (Book)
Living Our Story explores, from various perspectives, how Christian and Jewish religious leaders can sustain narratives of religious meaning and community in an environment of rapid change, religious pluralism, and media saturation.
Found under Narrative Leadership.

•  Reviewed 2/10:
Teaching Our Story: Narrative Leadership and Pastoral Formation (Book)
This essay collection from religious educators explores narrative practices that can help both seminary professors and pastors integrate theological learning with the day-to-day practices of ministry.
Found under Narrative Leadership; Religious Education.

•  Reviewed 2/10:
Reaching Out in a Networked World: Expressing Your Congregation's Heart and Soul (Book)
Lynne Baab relays the urgency of considering how new technologies can help congregations communicate their identity and values. She also offers a conceptual framework and practical tips for evaluating some new communication tools.
Found under Information Technology; Communications.

•  Reviewed 2/10:
Finding Our Story: Narrative Leadership and Congregational Change (Book)
In this book, congregational consultants explore the power of narrative and illustrate the ways that story can be used to help congregations heal their troubled pasts, recognize their strengths, and reshape their identities and futures.
Found under Narrative Leadership.

•  Reviewed 1/10:
Managing Polarities in Congregations: Eight Keys for Thriving Faith Communities (Book)
Through stories and illustrations, the authors explore positive and negative aspects of each pole in eight polarities common to congregations, how to recognize when imbalance occurs between poles, and the steps needed to correct the imbalance.
Found under Conflict; Organizational Learning.

•  Reviewed 1/10:
Simply Strategic Volunteers: Empowering People for Ministry (Book)
Written in a conversational style, this book offers practical and field-tested tips for recruiting, equipping, and retaining church volunteers in ninety-nine concise and easy-to-apply chapters suitable for individual or group study.
Found under Volunteers.

•  Reviewed 1/10:
Staying with Conflict: A Strategic Approach to Ongoing Disputes (Book)
This book shows how, in the case of long-term disputes, it is more helpful to help prepare the disputing parties to engage constructively with their differences over an extended period of time rather than focus on resolving the conflict quickly.
Found under Conflict.

•  Reviewed 1/10:
Reconciliation: The Ubuntu Theology of Desmond Tutu (Book)
Michael Battle explores Desmond Tutu’s theology of ubuntu, the understanding that we are all interconnected—with harm to one affecting the whole—and how this theology was foundational in the peaceful end to apartheid in South Africa.
Found under Peace and Justice; Theology.

•  Reviewed 1/10:
Tending to the Holy: The Practice of the Presence of God in Ministry (Book)
Through real-life stories from the authors' experiences, Tending to the Holy demonstrates how pastoral life can be made whole by practicing spiritual disciplines in the commonplace aspects of ministry.
Found under Spirituality; Practices.

•  Reviewed 1/10:
The Practice of Adaptive Leadership: Tools and Tactics for Changing Your Organization and the World (Book)
The authors have written a practical guide for those seeking to understand and implement adaptive leadership ("the practice of mobilizing people to tackle tough challenges and thrive") in their congregations.
Found under Leadership.

•  Reviewed 1/10:
Heart, Mind, and Strength: Theory and Practice for Congregational Leadership (Book)
Drawing from extensive scholarship on leadership and his many years of pastoral experience, Jeffrey Jones summarizes inspiring theories of leadership and offers practical advice for implementing these theories in the congregation.
Found under Leadership.

•  Reviewed 1/10:
The Churching of America 1776-2005: Winners and Losers in Our Religious Economy (Book)
In this brief book, Don Saliers examines the intersections between music and theology, the abstractions of language and the sensuality of music, and distinctions about so-called "sacred" and "secular" music.
Found under Religion in America.

•  Reviewed 1/10:
Music and Theology (Book)
Roger Finke and Rodney Stark use membership and census data gathered throughout American history to describe the growth and decline of mainline churches since the formation of the country.
Found under Music; Theology.

•  Reviewed 12/09:
Finance for Congregations: Resources for Congregational Treasurers and Bookkeepers (Web Resource)
This set of downloadable documents from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America provides financial help to people of many traditions. Audits, best practices, and contingency planning are among the topics explored.
Found under Congregational Finance.

•  Reviewed 12/09:
Wave Rider: Leadership for High Performance in a Self-Organizing World (Book)
Harrison Owen, the developer of Open Space Technology, reviews the history of Open Space and explains why it works. He further explores the practices that leaders can apply to foster high performance among those they are leading.
Found under Leadership; Organizational Learning.

•  Reviewed 12/09:
The Promise of Paradox: A Celebration of Contradictions in the Christian Life (Book)
Parker Palmer's The Promise of Paradox is organized around the themes of paradox and contradiction in Christian life. Palmer reflects on education, community, contemplation, political responsibility, prayer, social action, and solitude.
Found under Spirituality; Adult Education.

•  Reviewed 12/09:
Open Space Technology: A User's Guide (Book)
Harrison Owen explains how to facilitate Open Space Technology gatherings. Such meetings are especially helpful when diverse individuals "must deal with complex and potentially conflicting material in innovative and productive ways."
Found under Organizational Learning; Change.

•  Reviewed 11/09:
All for God's Glory: Redeeming Church Scutwork (Book)
Louis Weeks invites readers to consider the importance of effective congregational administration for preaching, teaching, and pastoral care. In particular, Weeks holds that excellent "scutwork" practices lead directly to pastoral care.
Found under Administration.

•  Reviewed 11/09:
International Religious Freedom Advocacy: A Guide to Organizations, Law, and NGOs (Article)
Accessible and understandable, International Religious Freedom Advocacy explains (in lay terms) basic concepts in international law, the brokers in religious freedom issues, and the organizations they work through.
Found under Peace and Justice.

•  Reviewed 11/09:
Cultural Intelligence: Improving Your CQ to Engage Our Multicultural World (Article)
Ministry leaders often seek out multicultural information and behavioral tips when they want to communicate across cultures. But this book delves more deeply into spiritual and practical responses to problems of cultural difference.
Found under Multicultural Resources; Emotional Intelligence; Diversity.

•  Reviewed 11/09:
Lazarus at the Gate: An Economic Discipleship Guide (Article)
Holding that "money is a critical object of modern Christian discipleship," the authors have designed this open-source 12-week study enabling small-group participants to support one another in their practices of economic discipleship.
Found under Small Groups; Discipleship; Public Ministry.