Onward is a magazine for news, stories, and updates from the members of the NAB family. It is published multiple times a year. The resources below were included in the fall 2023 edition.
BOOKS
Becoming the Church: God’s People in Purpose and Power by Dr. Claude Alexander
Dr. Alexander shows how the original Christians did not always understand what the church was supposed to be, but God worked in them anyway to become the community he intended. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we too can be transformed by Jesus and model to the world what it means to know him—as the church.
Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Written in the midst of WWII, while Bonhoeffer taught at an underground seminary in northern Germany, Life Together expounds on love and living in harmony. “Without Christ there is discord between God and man and between man and man . . . Christ opened up the way to God and to our brother.”
Longing for Revival: From Holy Discontent to Breakthrough Faith by James Choung and Ryan Pfeiffer
Choung and Pfeiffer have seen revival in their own ministries, with remarkable transformation in both individuals and communities. They unpack what revival looks like, how Christians can anticipate it, and how they can experience it in their own lives and in larger movements.
What Is the Church and Why Does It Exist? by David Fitch
Fitch delves into the origins of the church, exploring the identity and calling of the body of Christ in scripture and church history. Learn about the Christian practices that shape the church and how our understandings of church might change in light of the life of the church through the centuries.
Subversive Mission: Serving as Outsiders in a World of Need by Craig Greenfield
This book offers a new way forward for outsiders called to cross-cultural ministry by serving as humble alongsiders. Greenfield helps us rediscover the five-fold missional gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher and demonstrates how each must look radically different in a cross-cultural context.
The Beautiful Community: Unity, Diversity, and the Church at Its Best by Irwin Ince
Ince boldly unpacks the reasons for our divisions while gently guiding us toward our true hope for wholeness and reconciliation. The Gospel imperative to pursue the beautiful community—unity in diversity across lines of difference—is rooted in reflecting the beautiful community of our triune God.
Intercultural Church: A Biblical Vision for an Age of Migration by Safwat Marzouk
Marzouk offers a biblical vision for what it means to be an intercultural church, one that fosters a just diversity, integrates different cultural articulations of faith and worship, and embodies an alternative to the politics of assimilation and segregation.
The Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others by Scot McKnight
When Jesus coupled loving others as ourselves with the Shema – loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength – he reframed what it means to follow God. Scot invites us into the world in which Jesus lived to hear his core teachings like we’ve never heard them before.
I Am a Church Member: Discovering the Attitude that Makes the Difference by Thom S. Rainer
Drawn from his experience as a pastor and ministry leader, Rainer addresses what is expected of those who join a body of believers, with the understanding that when a person’s attitude is consistently biblical and healthy, matters of giving, serving, and so forth will fall into place more naturally.
The New Copernicans: Millennials and the Survival of the Church by David John Seel, Jr.
Millennials are both the church’s greatest challenge and its most exciting new opportunity. There is a fundamental frame of reference shift in American society happening right now among young adults. Seel suggests survival strategies – communication on-ramps for genuine human connection with the next generation.
ARTICLE
The Gospel Coalition: “5 Features That Made the Early Church Unique”
by Tim Keller
“In the first three centuries, Christians were persecuted more than any other religious group. Because they refused to honor other gods or worship the emperor, they were seen as too exclusive, too narrow, and a threat to the social order. So why, if Christians were seen as offensive and were excluded from circles of influence and business and often put to death, did anyone become a Christian? . . .”
PODCAST
The Saturate Podcast: Genuine Community
with Ben Connelly
Host Ben Connelly talks with Trillia Newbell, Daniel Im, Jeff Christopherson, Atanasio Segovia about his recent book, Genuine Community. The church isn’t meant to be a collection of strangers. God intends for you to find a unified and purposeful household where you truly belong. Trillia, Daniel, Jeff, Atanasio each share the beauty and challenges of life in community.
VIDEOS
Steele Heights–Fresh Manna Merger
In this short video, Pastor Darren & Juanita Platt of Steele Heights Baptist Church and Pastor Jamal & Noella Kimbanga of Fresh Manna Fellowship, both of Edmonton, Alberta, tell the story of their two congregations merging together into one church body. This video was originally part of the Walkabout series of videos for the 2021 Triennial.
“What Is the Church: Why It Still Matters”
Seminary Now – David Fitch
David Fitch, professor of Theology at Northern Seminary and author of many books, including Faithful Presence and The Church of Us vs. Them, sits down with Mike Moore to discuss his book What Is the Church and Why Does It Exist? for SeminaryNow.
“Why Is Christlikeness Important & Fruit 1 – Love”
Langham Partnership – Christopher J. H. Wright
In this video, Christopher J. H. Wright and a host of other writers and clergymen reflect on the importance of Christlikeness, and the continual striving toward that in the life of a Christian. Wright also shares a bit from the first two chapters of his book, Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit.
How to Do a Prayer Walk in Your Neighborhood
This video from Backyard Church gives a simple walkthrough of how to start prayer walking and how to progress your prayer walk to deeper and deeper levels.