The Child Safeguarding Policy for Churches and Ministries by GRACE

Does your church or ministry need help developing a policy to keep children safe? The GRACE team with multi-disciplinary knowledge, headed by Boz Tchividjian, a lawyer and former child abuse prosecutor, want to help you create a plan with their new book and resource, The Child Safeguarding Policy for Churches and Ministries. Creating a policy can seem too overwhelming, and it feels like an impossible task to plan for every contingency. This handbook is designed for use by a group that will be formulating policies and procedures to protect children and deal with possible child abuse in their ministry, school, and/or church. Working through this book will assist churches and ministries to assess their current child abuse polices and then guide them through each step they need to take to address the safety of children under their care.

About the Book

The Child Safeguarding Policy for Churches and Ministries (New Growth Press, August 2017)

Churches have always sought to be a safe haven for children and families, but many today are dealing with the tragic reality of child sexual abuse.

This handbook, authored and edited by a multidisciplinary team of child abuse experts, is designed for use by a group that will be formulating policies and procedures to protect children and deal with possible child abuse in their ministry, school, and/or church. Working through this book will assist churches and ministries to assess their current child abuse polices and then guide them through each step they need to take to address the safety of children under their care. It will cover vitally important topics including:

—Protecting the children in a Christian environment from child abuse
—The warning signs of child abuse
—Crafting and implement a child protection policy
—Responding to abuse allegations
—Caring for victims of child abuse
—The legal implications and requirements for churches and Christian ministries

Written by a GRACE team with multi-disciplinary knowledge, headed by Boz Tchividjian, a lawyer and former child abuse prosecutor, this handbook will be an invaluable resource to Christians who are seeking to educate themselves and others about child abuse and how to best protect the little ones under their care.

Learn more and purchase a copy.

 

About the Authors

(Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment) is a nonprofit organization made up of highly trained, experienced multidisciplinary professionals who seek to educate and empower the Christian community to identify, confront, and respond to the sin of child abuse.

Find out more about GRACE at http://www.netgrace.org.

Margie’s Comments

The Child Safeguarding Policy for Churches and Ministries is the book any Christian ministry needs in order to set up a policy for employees and volunteers in a church, school, camp, or any para-church ministry that works with children. Over the years I have worked in almost every area of ministry at our church, including the school and camp our church owns. Twenty years ago, the state of Colorado required all “religious” entities that work with children to have a written policy of what abuse is, and how we intended to keep the laws set up to protect the children who came through the church, school, or camp.

                 

Today my son and daughter-in-love head up the training each employee or volunteer at our church must go through each year in order to work with the children the Lord brings into each ministry. (They will get my copy of this e-book that was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.) There are many organizations out there who actually can help in training employees and volunteers in order to be in compliance with each state’s laws concerning abuse. But those who wrote this policy book are considered among the most experienced with the most practical advice.

The book is divided into five sections covering a definition of every kind of abuse, a plan for protecting the children in our ministry, a plan for responding to policy violations and child abuse, a plan for ministering to those who have been abused, and a plan for living the policy. Each chapter ends with a sample wording for a church policy manual, plus sample forms located in the Appendices. Having been through the training for adults working in children’s ministries, I found this book to cover each topic thoroughly with easy to understand narrative and case studies. The sample forms easily delineate what each is for and why it exists. As a former teacher, mom, grandma, camp kitchen coordinator and counselor, I found this book extremely helpful and thorough in helping a ministry like ours make sure they are in compliance with the law. I highly recommend the book and commend the authors for addressing this difficult topic in a kind and compassionate way.

Getaway with God: The Everywonan's Guide to Personal Retreat by Leticia Suk

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 About the Book:
 
Getaway with God (Kregel, November 2016)

What if a simple day away could transform your life?

Does spending time with God sound like just one more thing to check off an ever-increasing to-do list? How are you supposed to fit in anything that threatens to be more time-consuming? Too often there’s simply no room to experience the intimacy, grace, and peace that God offers us.

Getaway with God does more than invite you to step away from life’s pressures to take a personal retreat. It shows you exactly why you must–for your sake and for your family’s.

With grace and warmth, Letitia Suk provides step-by-step guidance and the necessary tools to enable any woman on any budget to plan time away, whether it’s a quick, half-day break or a weeklong time of restoration. You’ll find detailed steps for preparation, including descriptions of different kinds of retreats and how to choose the best one for you, and you’ll learn ways to bring the renewal you experience home with you. Practical appendixes identify retreat centers nationwide and provide exercises and prayers to kick-start your getaway with God.

No matter what your season in life, the time for retreat is now!

Learn more and purchase a copy.

 

 About the Author:

Letitia invites women to chase the Intentional life. She writes and speaks of God's renewal and restoration and offers platters of hope to women in each season of life. Tish is also a personal retreat guide and life coach in the Chicago area and moonlights as a hospital chaplain. You might run into her walking by Lake Michigan, browsing resale shops, or making up a new tradition. She blogs at hopeforthebest.org and is also the author of "Rhythms of Renewal."

Margie’s Comments:

Ever since we first moved to Colorado a little over 20 years ago, I’ve had the perfect place to go for my personal retreats—our family cabin, a place I’ve been going to since I was a very little girl. But even though I could have benefitted from them, I didn’t actually start purposely taking them until about 15 years ago. By then my daughter was in college and my son in high school. Both had summer jobs, and while I was teaching school, summer was the perfect time to getaway. (Plus the cabin is a little difficult to get to once the snow starts flying!) Then we moved away, and my getaways didn’t happen, except on vacation, but then I was always with my hubby. Not a bad thing, but he was always in the background. 

Then in February this year we moved back to Colorado, and one of my first thoughts was that I would be able to get in a personal retreat at the cabin once again. However, with limited access to a vehicle (we have one between us, and mostly hubby needs it for work), I haven’t had as many as I would like. Still, when I saw Letitia Suk’s book Getaway with God: Everywoman’s Guide to Personal Retreat, I knew I wanted to see what she included in her personal retreats with God. 

This book is exactly what it says it will be: a guide to personal retreats, getaways with God. She has great ideas of where to go on personal retreats from bed-and-breakfasts to hotels to retreat centers. (One reason I like the cabin so well—my phone gets little to no cell service at 9,000 ft. in the Rocky Mountains! And while the cabin is near a very popular trailhead, it sits up the mountain away from the road, and during the week very few people go by the entrance to the cabins.) Also, she includes several ideas of what to include in your retreat—journaling, reading, praying, taking walks/hikes, enjoying nature, etc. Many of these things I’ve done. (Sometimes I’ve been so drained, all I do is sit on the porch just soaking in the peace and quiet. Or I go down to the stream and sit on a rock near the water and let the sounds rush over me. The water is usually too cold for me to stick my feet in, except on the very warmest of days and sitting in the sun!) Every time God meets me and I come home with a renewed sense of purpose and a little better understanding of His character. 

If you are feeling drained, overwhelmed, or ready to give up, I highly recommend a getaway with God. Even if you’ve done personal retreats before, I still recommend you get Leticia’s book for some great suggestions of how to conduct and personalize your own retreat.

NOTE: Make sure you sign up for the author giveaway. See the previous post for links.

Union with Christ by Rankin Wilbourne

About the Book:

Union with Christ: The Way to Know and Enjoy God (David C. Cook, July 2016)

Nothing is more basic or central to knowing and enjoying God than Union with Christ.

Have you ever had difficulty connecting what you know to be true about God with how you feel or how you live each day? Have you ever longed to change but just felt stuck?

The Bible makes a stunning claim: God has provided a way for your life to be united to Christ’s. What does that mean? Is it really possible for me, now? What would it look like?

In Union with Christ, Rankin Wilbourne makes union with Christ accessible and beautiful, for you. Union with Christ is not an abstract idea. It is a powerful reality. And recovering a sense of your union with Christ can change everything for you, like finally putting on a pair of desperately needed glasses.

Discover how coming to see your life through the lens of union with Christ can help bridge that gap between your head and your heart, between your belief and your experience. Union with Christ is what we most need in order to know and enjoy God.

Learn more and purchase a copy.

About the Author:

 

 Rankin Wilbourne grew up in Louisiana and was educated at the University of Mississippi and Princeton Theological Seminary. He is now the senior pastor of Pacific Crossroads Church in Los Angeles. As a former commercial banker, Rankin understands the "gap" between the gospel preached on Sunday and the world people face on Monday. Leading a thriving church in a city driven by stories, he's concerned with drawing connections between what we believe and how we live. Rankin and his wife, Morgen, reside in Los Angeles with their three children.

Margie’s Comments:

The simple title of this book, Union with Christ, reflects the simplicity of the truth that Jesus Christ came to earth “to seek and to save that which was lost.” But salvation in Jesus Christ alone involves our active participation. And the author, Rankin Wilbourne, does a masterful job of explaining and encouraging his readers to dig deeper into God’s Word to find the answers to the “gap” that exists as believers attempt to reconcile what they hear in church on Sunday and the pressures of the world the rest of the week (or as soon as they walk out the door of their churches into the “real” world).

This topic of learning to abide in Christ (John 15) or union with Christ has been one that I’ve pondered for most of my adult life. In reading this book for review (but also for my own study and growth), I realized how thankful I am for the church we have been a part of sixteen out of the last twenty years. If it hadn’t been for the teaching of the pastors and other staff members on justification and progressive sanctification, I probably wouldn’t have as good a grasp on this topic as I do. Oh, I’m far from perfect, but it has long been my prayer to realize the truth of Paul’s desire stated in Philippians 3:8–14. Even before we moved to Colorado twenty years ago, the Lord brought me through various circumstances, and yes, trials, in order to see how this union with Christ could be accomplished. And for those experiences I am grateful.

The author establishes the historical position of the church on this topic of union with Christ before showing us the need of individual believers to have a balance between God’s amazing grace (that doesn’t give license to do whatever we please) and obedience to God’s commands in His Word in order to achieve the joy and peace that is ours when we are in true union with Christ. This is a full-length book that (at least for me) takes time to read it thoroughly in order to understand and comprehend and apply the truths of Scripture, but it is well worth every minute spent in doing so. I highly recommend Union with Christ: The Way to Know and Enjoy God by Rankin Wilbourne.

Jesus and the Beanstalk by Lori Stanley Roeleveld

About the Book:
 
Jesus and the Beanstalk: Overcoming Your Giants and Living a Fruitful Life (Abingdon Press, September 2016)

What if a fairy tale and ten Bible verses could free you to live an effective, fruitful life in Christ?
We live in unsettling, challenging times. Everywhere we look, we see giant problems: giant obstacles to sharing faith, giant barriers to peaceful lives, giant strongholds of fear. But what if you knew eight small secrets to unlocking a strength big enough to overcome whatever obstacle life may bring?

Using allegory and a bit of humor, Jesus and the Beanstalk explores a passage in 2 Peter 1 to uncover eight truths that will help you unleash a larger-than-life faith:

—Faith
—Goodness
—Knowledge
—Self-control
—Perseverance
—Godliness
—Affection for others
—Love

In this creative, refreshing perspective on spiritual growth, you will discover an unyielding strength when you tap the power of a God who is stronger than any beanstalk and bigger than your biggest giants.

Learn more and purchase a copy.





 
About the Author:

Lori Stanley Roeleveld is the author of "Running from a Crazy Man (and other adventures traveling with Jesus)" and "Red Pen Redemption." Her blog, LoriRoeleveld.com, was voted Top 100 Christian Blogs by RedeemingGod.com and has enjoyed over 1.5 million views. Lori lives in Hope Valley, RI.






 

Margie’s Comments: 
When I was first contacted about doing a review for Jesus and the Beanstalk, I was a little skeptical. But as soon as I started reading the book, I was once again reminded that Jesus spoke in parables much of the time, causing much the same skeptical (at least) reaction from the religious leaders of His day. So, rebuked and challenged, I changed my attitude and as I continued to read I appreciated the fresh approach to a well-loved passage in 2 Peter 1.

We all face giants who are against our desires to know Christ better and to live as Christ would have us live and to walk out Christlikeness before and increasingly unbelieving world. Lori Roeleveld has divided this Bible study into three parts: the first part makes the correlation between Christlike living and “Jack and the Beanstalk”; the second part explores how to make a difference in our increasing spiritually dark culture; and the final part takes us into an in-depth six-day study on each of the eight virtues Peter encourages us to actively pursue and incorporate into our daily lives.

As I read the book, I was challenged over and over to actively pursue Christlikeness in every area of life. I not only highly recommend Jesus and the Beanstalk to all my readers, I am praying about using this book as a small-group Bible study with the women at my church. In fact, I’m already using portions of it in my current study on the promises of God. Many thanks to the author for the courage to write the book and to Abingdon Press for publishing it and sending me a copy of the book in exchange for review.

Review of Before Amen by Max Lucado

About the book: 

We all pray . . . some.

We pray to stay sober, centered, or solvent. When the lump is deemed malignant. When the money runs out before the month does. When the marriage is falling apart. We pray.

But wouldn't we like to pray more? Better? Stronger? With more fire, faith, and fervency?

Yet we have kids to feed, bills to pay, deadlines to meet. The calendar pounces on our good intentions like a tiger on a rabbit. And what about our checkered history with prayer? Uncertain words. Unmet expectations. Unanswered requests.

We aren't the first to struggle with prayer. The first followers of Jesus needed prayer guidance too. In fact, prayer is the only tutorial they ever requested.

And Jesus gave them a prayer. Not a lecture on prayer. Not the doctrine of prayer. He gave them a quotable, repeatable, portable prayer. Couldn't we use the same?

In Before Amen best-selling author Max Lucado joins readers on a journey to the very heart of biblical prayer, offering hope for doubts and confidence even for prayer wimps. Distilling prayers in the Bible down to one pocket-sized prayer, Max reminds readers that prayer is not a privilege for the pious nor the art of a chosen few. Prayer is simply a heartfelt conversation between God and his child. Let the conversation begin.

About the author: More than 120 million readers have found comfort in the writings of Max Lucado. He ministers at the Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas, where he lives with his wife, Denalyn, and a sweet but misbehaving mutt, Andy.

Find Max online: website, Twitter,Facebook

Margie's Comments:  I found Max Lucado's Before Amen: The Power of a Simple Prayer a very, easy, quick read. But definitely not simplistic. We all know our prayers could use some help, and Jesus taught His disciples to pray by giving them an example of a simple yet powerful prayer. Knowing humanity's propensity to make something easy difficult, Jesus gave them a basic prayer to work from. Max breaks this prayer down into bite-size pieces and gives us real-life connections and examples of how to make it practical in our lives today. I know I will apply the principles to my own prayers from now on.  

Pre-order a copy of Before Amen by 9/29 and receive a FREE ebook copy of Max's best-selling Second Chances: More Stories of Grace.

Purchase a copy:  http://ow.ly/BbwcL