Book descriptions are listed by publication date, starting with the most current. All may be purchased through such chains as www.amazon.com or www.barnesandnoble.com. Highlighted links are to the publisher in most cases. The Emotionally Healthy Church: A Strategy for Discipleship That Actually Changes Lives, by Pete Scazzero with Warren Bird, Zondervan, 2003, 224 pages. ISBN 0310246547. Something is desperately wrong with most churches today. Many sincere followers of Christ who are passionate for God and his work are unaware of the crucial link between emotional health and spiritual maturity. They present themselves as spiritually mature but are stuck at a level of emotional immaturity that current models of discipleship have not addressed. Discipleship that really transforms a church must integrate emotional health with spiritual maturity, according to Pete Scazzero. The Emotionally Healthy Church offers a strategy for discipleship that does this and actually changes lives. Starting a New Church: How to Plant a High-Impact Congregation, by Dale Galloway with Warren Bird, Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, with accompanying DVD, 2003, 154 pages. ISBN 0834119854, www.nph.com Starting a New Church gives you all the tools you need to successfully plant a high-impact new congregation. It is designed to help a church-planting team articulate their core values and communicate their vision, choose a launch date, prepare for the first Sunday, and to build from there. The easy-to-use notebook is divided into a leader's guide and reproducible participant workbook. In addition, this kit includes a DVD designed to stimulate study and discussion. Each of the 15 chapters is enhanced by a 3-5 minute video clip, usually featuring an actual church planter whose story is told in the chapter. UnLearning Church: Transforming Spiritual Leadership for the Emerging Church, by Michael Slaughter with Warren Bird, Group Publishing, 2002, 221 pages. ISBN 0764422979. You were born to be an original, not a copy. So was your church. It's time to break the rules about the church, about leadership, and about penetrating postmodern culture with God's purposes. It's time to unLearn "church," according to Mike Slaughter, Chief Dreamer of the renowned Ginghamsburg Church. Churches that lovingly dare to shoulder spiritual and prophetic leadership in our rapid-change culture will be led by those who are not satisfied with being a leadership "clone." UnLearning Church will equip you to gaze boldly beyond franchised church models to a clear vision for how the Holy Spirit is empowering you and your church to demonstrate the kingdom of God. Lost in America: How Your Church Can Impact the World Next Door, by Tom Clegg and Warren Bird, Group Publishing, 2001, 176 pages. ISBN 076442257X. Jesus came to seek and save the lost - and he wants you to join him! Increasingly the evangelism "playing field" and "rules" in a postmodern culture have changed dramatically. This book will challenge the way you think about evangelism and will give you a soul-stirring new vision for what it can be. Forget outdated models. Forget heady, forced strategies. People are tired of presentations, but are longing for personal relationships. They want a genuine friendship with someone like you to lead them to the Lord. The book is full of powerful, realistic ways that you and your church can effectively reach out in genuine love to those without Christ in their lives. On-Purpose Leadership: Multiplying Your Ministry by Becoming a Leader of Leaders, by Dale Galloway with Warren Bird, Beacon Hill, 2001, 119 pages. ISBN0834118823. "If you're not a growing person yourself, your church cannot go to new places," says Dale Galloway. "Ninety percent of church leaders never go past their own reach. You must learn to get beyond yourself." This book helps you break through the barriers that bar you and your church from achieving a new level of leadership and ministry. It introduces a three-level perspective for developing ministry within the local church that builds on Christ's own ministry model. Your ministry will multiply exponentially as you encourage and empower your lay leaders who in turn equip others for ministry. Into the Future: Turning Today's Church Trends into Tomorrow's Opportunities, by Elmer Towns and Warren Bird, Revell, 2000, 240 pages. ISBN 0800757254. Note: This book is currently out of print, and is being updated for 2005 publication by Regal Books as Twelve Innovated Churches (working title). A limited number of copies are still available from the authors; contact Elmer Towns. This book has received high praise for putting churches in touch with emerging trends, but then also giving hands-on guidance in what to do. They help each church work through the practical implications and develop a workable action plan. In today's era of rapid change, where if you sit still you lose ground, your congregation must be proactive, turning today's church trends into opportunities for more effective ministry. Every chapter bursts with real-life examples taken directly from experts such as Bill Hybels, George Barna, Chuck Colson, Ravi Zacharias, Rick Warren, and Henry Blackaby. Real Followers: Beyond Virtual Christianity, Michael Slaughter with Warren Bird, Abingdon, 1999, 205 pages. ISBN 0687033411. This book leads readers, especially those in a small group together, on a radical quest to expose the pretender inside - too superficial in their daily walk with God. It shows you how your personal desires and ambitions can be aligned with God's dreams for your life. It teaches you how to think God's thoughts as the key to discerning God's will. You will realize there are no three-step or ten-step techniques for becoming a real follower of Jesus Christ. "Right now you can dream God's dreams and know God's thoughts so that you can be guided in how to direct your week," says Slaughter. Nine Keys to Effective Small-Group Leadership: How Lay Leaders Can Establish Healthy Cells, Classes and Teams, by Carl George with Warren Bird, Mansfield, PA: Kingdom, 1997, 216 pages. ISBN 188390613x. The simple truths of Scripture illustrated in the nine keys presented in this book will unlock and open doors that make the difference in health, growth, vitality, energy, and life in your small group. Don't just have meetings. Instead, propel your group to a new level of teamwork and fruitfulness for Christ. Learn and apply the simple truths of Scripture illustrated in these nine keys in order to utilize and open the doors. These nine keys will make a lasting impact in your small group because they will transform the perspective of its leadership team. The Comprehensive Guide to Cassette Ministry, by Johnny Berguson with Warren Bird, Kingdom, 1997, 259 pages. ISBN 1883906121. "I wrote this book so churches can learn from the best practices I've found across North America," says the author. "Your church, regardless of its size, can make stronger disciples, develop a greater outreach capacity, build a more solid financial base, and even become a more caring place - all because of the multiplication possibilities of audio tapes, as used by the Holy Spirit." This unique book is far more than a comprehensive how-to manual. Rather, the driving idea is the need to impact your world for Christ. Through a highly readable, story-laced format, you will be motivated to create a thriving cassette ministry that increases your church's evangelism, discipleship, training and even its financial base. The Coming Church Revolution, by Carl George with Warren Bird, Revell, 1994, 349 pages. ISBN 0800755286. The Coming Church Revolution describes a significant new direction in ministry that already has revolutionized congregations of all sizes around the world. It gives very specific applications for the metachurch paradigm of leadership development. It focuses on small groups as "evangelistic care units" and on small-group leadership as the best context for believers to be discipled. Charts and vivid analogies unveil a model of ministry and a fresh attitude that stresses the importance of relationships over programs. "Churches rise and fall on the availability of trained, talented, and Spirit-gifted leadership," says the author. How to Break Growth Barriers, by Carl George with Warren Bird, Baker, 1993, 232 pages. ISBN 0801038537. This book continually asks, "What if God wanted you to handle twice as many people as you are ministering to at present?" It deals with churches of every size, showing them the next growth barrier to break and how to cross it, all the while developing a compassionate heart for greater evangelism. Growth comes when effective leadership and training are working hand in hand, when pastors learn how to be makers of other shepherds. If you are frustrated by declining or static church membership, this book will help you discover new keys to growth and vitality. Charts and checklists for self-evaluation are included. Prepare Your Church for the Future, by Carl George, edited Warren Bird, Revell, 1991, 240 pages. ISBN 0800753658. For pastors who want to be prepared to meet the spiritual needs of our rapidly changing society, Prepare Your Church for the Future (which has sold more than 100,000 copies) describes the metachurch, a body that is large enough to celebrate and small enough to care. Specific guidelines aid pastors and church leaders in making theirs the church of their dreams--a caring, witnessing church where enough lay leaders are present because the pastoral team has focused at every point in raising up leaders. The author draws from his own extensive church-planting and church-growth experience to provide you with step-by-step strategies, based on a biblical understanding of the church and its mission. Crossroads, edited by Warren Bird, Pioneer Ministries, 1982, 464 pages. Published by Pioneer Clubs, a Christ-centered club program for children and youth. This book is now out of print.