Resources

Resources may be purchased through Cokesbury by clicking on the title of the resource or its accompanying image.

ReConnecting Worship: Where Tradition and Innovation Converge
by Rob Weber with Stacy Hood

Published by Abingdon Press, this resource is ideal for pastors, musicians, worship teams, worship committees, and general church leadership—anyone who frequently faces the challenges of today’s complex worship landscape.

ReConnecting Worship is helpful for churches wanting to remain faithful to tradition, yet are striving to engage innovation. Whether congregations need to start an alternative service, develop worship for a new congregation, or infuse a new creativity into existing worship teams, ReConnecting Worship can provide guidance, information and inspiration to worship teams and other groups seeking to deepen their understanding of and participation in worship. This project can be helpful for:

Existing churches trying to deepen congregational understanding and experience of worship
Churches with more than one worship style who want to increase cohesion among church members and overcome tensions based in stylistic differences
Churches that are reshaping worship to reach groups of people with different generational or cultural backgrounds
Churches starting new or alternative worship experiences
New churches planning to launch their inaugural worship experience In times of congregational change, information about worship needs to be experienced in a way that promotes discussion and multilayered learning

ReConnecting Worship provides video session that include examples of innovation in worship with integrity, interview with church leaders experiencing tension and positive change, and practical suggestions for planning and implementation in a variety of settings.

(back to top)

Communion: Igniting Worship DVD
Compiled by Grace Community Church

The Igniting Worship Series consists of resources to assist pastors and worship leaders in building an effective worship experience. This volume contains ten unique and complete acts of worship for the topical subject of Communion. The worship experiences are organized around a Scripture and theme, and include brief biblical and liturgical comments, sermon outlines, calls to worship, prayers and benedictions. Some worship acts also include short dramas. The DVD contains 10 or more video clips (i.e. complete vignette or stock footage) suitable for projection in worship or customized in a desktop video software package. Background worship graphics and bulletin covers are also included on the DVD and can be customized in imaging software.

(back to top)

ReKindling Your Music Ministry:A Guide for Congregations with Multiple or Alternative Worship Patterns
by Stacy Hood

Whether it be a church that is looking to add to a traditional music program or a church that is looking to start a nontraditional music ministry, ReKindling Your Music Ministry guides worship leaders to make an effective transition into a new music format for worship by reducing or better managing conflict. The key ingredient in a music ministry is to focus hearts on doing God's will—which is an excellent antidote to anxieties about entertainment and performance in worship.

(back to top)

Other Resources by Rob Weber

ReConnecting:A Wesleyan Guide for the Renewal of Our Congregation
by Rob Weber

ReConnecting is a seven-week or seven-session experience designed to get congregational small groups in touch with historical (Wesleyan) roots and contemporary cultural forces, so that an individual can embrace his or her "priesthood." This experience also provides an envelope for a church vision and for strategic planning used throughout a congregation and based in prayer and identity formation. The use of the seven-session experience may be customized based on the churches' vision and need —to stimulate a frozen congregation, to deploy as an adult group Lenten activity, or to revisit a Wesleyan heritage.

(back to top)

Beginnings: An Introduction to Christian Faith
by Rob Weber

Beginnings invites seekers, new believers, and even longtime church members to take a fresh look at the Christian faith in a warm, relaxed setting. Participating churches report that new disciples are being won every day!

The program balances individual study and reflection with fellowship and group activities. The 12 sessions take place over 9-12 weeks and include:

Individual study during the week
Weekly meetings that begin with a meal
A 20-minute video presentation
Discussion of the video and readings

(back to top)

Beginnings II: The Spiritual Life
by Rob Weber

Where is the Spirit in spirituality? How much am I willing to risk? What is most important to me? Can I find balance in a whirlwind world? What do I want to when I grow up? How do I keep my possessions from possessing from possessing me? How do I get ahead? Can I go deeper without going under? What do I do with my doubts? Can a change in me change the world?

(back to top)

Visual Leadership: The Church Leader As Imagesmith
by Rob Weber

Today's church leader must develop sensitivity to a variety of media forms as well as an understanding of the multiple levels of story, understanding, and image out of which (and into which) people live. This book examines the process of a "visual" form of leadership in which these principles and the process can be applied in a variety of settings, by allowing for enhanced communication and fostering the development of congregational ownership over vision and direction.

(back to top)