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In Parable Church, pastor and author Mike Burnette discovers in Jesus's parables a better approach to church life, one focused not on growth strategies or trendy principles, but on a focus towards cultivating the culture of the kingdom revealed through the teachings of Jesus' parables.
List of contents
Section 1: Parable of THE SON
1. The Father Cares About Lost Things… Older Brothers Care About Themselves
2. The Father Pays Grace Forward… Older Brothers Want Payback
3. The Father Throws Parties… Older Brothers Throw Fits
Section 2: Parable of THE SOWER
1. The Seed Always Works… The Soil Does Not
2. We Don’t Turn Hearts … We Do Turn over Heart Soil
3. The Culture of the Kingdom Prepares the Soil… Anything Else Hardens It
Parable of THE STEWARD
1. When It’s All Over… It’s All His
2. All We Have Is From God… If We Don’t Have It, He Doesn’t Want Us To
3. It’s God’s Job To Grow His Church… It’s Our Job To Grow Healthy
About the author
Mike Burnette has served as lead pastor of LifePoint Church in Clarksville, Tennessee since 2010. Mike has a passion for expository Biblical preaching, developing leaders, and serving his community. Under his leadership, the church has grown from 85 weekend attenders to over 5,500 in multiple locations, with a rapidly growing online presence. LifePoint Church was named Outreach Magazine's "Fastest Growing Church in America" in 2018. Mike and his wife, Stephanie, love leading together, especially at home with their four daughters.
John Driver, M.S. is an award-winning writer and collaborator of more than twenty-five books. A former teacher with a history degree from the University of Tennessee, he lives near Nashville with his wife, Laura, and their daughter, Sadie. He serves as the executive and teaching pastor at The Church at Pleasant Grove and hosts the weekly podcast Talk About That.
Summary
Unpacks unique insights from Jesus' parables that can help us understand and experience the full, transformative life in community we are divinely intended to live.
Christ never actually told us how to "do church." Yes, he had a lot to say about the church, but what he did say was mostly unrelated to stylistic issues or contextual trends. He never spoke about its leadership hierarchies or the pros and cons of denominational fellowships or the types of music. And yet, much of our time and energy as leaders and shepherds is consumed by chasing after tips, tricks, and secrets to "grow" churches.
While we've tended to focus on church growth through strategies, programs, and metric-based insights, Christ always focused on the heart and the values of the Father, the values that actually change lives and increase the spiritual health of his people.
By digging deeply into three important parables:
- The Parable of the Two Sons
- The Parable of the Sower
- The Parable of the Talents
Parable Church weaves together personal narratives, unique cultural observations, and compellingly fresh biblical insights to paint a picture of something unimaginably greater than what most people think of when they think of Jesus' Church.
Although Jesus never gave us directions for church, he did, through his parables, reveal what we should experience in our communities together--he revealed the culture of his kingdom.
Additional text
'Mike Burnette helps all of us as leaders understand the power of building a church on the foundation of 'being the church' and not just doing church. This is a deep dive into the countercultural building of God's kingdom through the power of parables and storytelling.'
