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This volume is produced from digital images created through the University of Michigan University Library's preservation reformatting program. ... Read more

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General Books publication date: 2009Original publication date: 1908Original Publisher: Hodder and StoughtonSubjects: Presbyterian ChurchReligion / Sermons / ChristianReligion / Christianity / PresbyterianNotes: This is an OCR reprint of the original rare book. There may be typos or missing text and there are no illustrations.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there. ... Read more

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General Books publication date: 2009Original publication date: 1877Original Publisher: "Valley sentinel" officeSubjects: Presbyterians in PennsylvaniaPresbyteriansCarlisle (Pa.)Biography ... Read more

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This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

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Publisher: St. Louis: Presbyterian Publishing Co. Richmond, Va.: Presbyterian Committee of PublicationPublication date: 1881Subjects: Presbyterian Church in the U.SPresbyterian Church in the U.SNotes: This is an OCR reprint. There may be numerous typos or missing text. There are no illustrations or indexes.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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Originally published in 1902.This volume from the Cornell University Library's print collections was scanned on an APT BookScan and converted to JPG 2000 format by Kirtas Technologies.All titles scanned cover to cover and pages may include marks notations and other marginalia present in the original volume. ... Read more

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Originally published in 1878.This volume from the Cornell University Library's print collections was scanned on an APT BookScan and converted to JPG 2000 format by Kirtas Technologies.All titles scanned cover to cover and pages may include marks notations and other marginalia present in the original volume. ... Read more

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"The Presbyterian Trustee" is a brief, highly useful handbook for trustees in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the first to examine the office. Modeled after "The Presbyterian Elder" and the author's own "The Presbyterian Deacon," this book explores the biblical models of trustees, the historic background of the office, and the responsibilities of trustees today. Added features include a liturgy for the installation and recognition of trustees, a glossary, and a list of other recommended resources. ... Read more

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The Presbyterian Trustee
I found this book a succinct review of what it means to be a church trustee. ... Read more

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This is an essential companion to The Presbyterian Hymnal and Hymns, Psalms, & Spiritual Songs. Church musicians and pastors will welcome the ease with which they can locate keywords, topics, and scriptural references. ... Read more

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This book offers laity and clergy a succinct and thorough introduction to the history of Presbyterianism. Smylie provides a fresh look at the uniquely Presbyterian contibution to American history and culture. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

A Definitive History
As a former student of Dr. Smylie, I can attest to his passion for history, in particular the history of the Presbyterian Church in all its forms. With words and pictures, A Brief History helps us understand the foundations of our denomination. It is an invaluable tool for teaching and explaining our journey in the waters in the Reformed Tradition.

a good synopsis
As a lifelong Presbyterian, I have been seriously lacking in knowing its historical background.I found this to be a good quick way for me to begin a journey in understanding the roots of mydenomination.

Not for the lay person
This book is written by a professor of Theology and in my opinion is geared more toward an audience of academicians. It is not an easy read as it is very wordy - to the point of being choppy and lacking flow. I can see it being useful for students of Theology for purposes of research papers as it is filled with a wealth of information. However, this is not a book for the casual reader that is just looking to learn more about the history of the Presbyterian religion. While it provides the information you're probably looking for, it reads like a college text book. This is definitely a book for clergy and the world of academia, NOT for the lay person or casual reader.

Utterly Amazing
This little book is jam-packed with as near a complete history of Presbyterian Heritage as is accesible to the average laity.I was very impressed with the clarity and description, and the charts and photos greatly enhanced my understanding.As a religion student I would highly reccomend this to all my Presbyterian brethern.This is a truly good read.

Excelent Resource
Excelent resource I am useing it for a research paper it great for putting dates in prespective. ... Read more

Product Description
While most Presbyterian churches have suffered major losses in membership, a small chunk of churches in California and Hawaii have proven the exception to the norm with substantial growth for the five year period, 2002-2007. These fifteen unique churches are explored in Why Are These Presbyterian Churches Growing? to reveal common principles and how to challenge the decline in more than 10,000 congregations.Even though there are obvious similarities, each story is different in challenging and dramatic presentations of classic Christianity. Author, Foster H. Shannon, clearly transcends the information beyond the wall of each church with highly dynamic descriptions and inspiring discourse. Each chapter is dedicated to a different profile equipped with an array of tables, summaries, service details, and three full color photos depicting the buildings and activities of each church.Clearly written and straight to the point, Why Are These Presbyterian Churches Growing? provides an abundance of information without weighing down the reader with excessive particulars. Dr. Shannon thoroughly covers the topics in a manner that is easily accessible to the interested follower. The exciting stories challenge and encourage all of us, while their unique examples offer inspiring models for Presbyterian and other churches across the country. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

This book is a hopeful starting point
This short book is a hopeful starting point.It is an overview of fifteen Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) congregations in California that are growing.It does present a hint as to why these churches are doing well, but good be developed more in-depth.I do wonder if author Shannon did more research that just was not included in this book?If so, it would have been worthwhile to include it here.Otherwise, his research seems to have consisted of worshipping with the congregation, checking out the physical plant, looking at the website, and visiting briefly with some of the staff.

Not what I had hoped
As a fellow Presbyterian pastor, I was excited to discover and order this book. That said, I was disappointed in the reading. The bulk of the (rather short) book is a record of the author's visits to Sunday worship at each church, with occasional evidence that he spoke with a pastor or some other leader (or, in one case, at least skimmed through a booklet written about the church by one of its pastors).

Highlights:
1. Summaries of Sunday worship structure. While I was disappointed in the lack of analysis (see below), it was interesting to read a basic summary of what Sunday morning looks like in 15 growing churches.
2. Reports of how these pastors see their congregations, and how they articulate what God is doing among them now. While not included in every chapter, these reports are the most instructive part of the book.
3. On page 96-97, he notes some common church practices that are justified in the name of outreach, but can actually make newcomers feel overly visible and uncomfortable (I'm guessing few if any of these churches used them). As an interim pastor, I can easily imagine photocopying these two pages and using them as a discussion starter with a worship team/committee and/or session (but see #5, below).

Some particular negative issues:
1. A lack of analysis. With no in-depth research in evidence beyond describing Sunday worship, transcribing parts of the bulletin, vision statements, and some membership data (available at (...), and the above-mentioned (brief?) conversations with church leadership, there wasn't much for Mr. Shannon to use -- as is amply demonstrated in his reluctance even in his concluding chapter to offer much in the way of helpful insight.
2. A fixation on membership over worship attendance. One of his "growing churches" actually showed no increase in worship attendance when comparing 2002 with 2007; all of its growth was simply in its membership rolls. Now, there might have been some explanation for that (a group was commissioned to plant another church? a group left for some other reason? or, more likely in this case, attendance dropped back somewhat as the senior pastor readied for his departure and an interim arrived) which justified its inclusion in this book. But he gives no such explanation.
3. No word on why these 15 churches were chosen out of the "less than 30" he mentions as having grown over his five-year study period.
4. Honestly, although he is a pastor, he shows signs of not exactly having kept up with his field. In his introduction he implies that only while doing this research did he realize that the "traditional style of chancels" in Presbyterian churches stemmed from 16th and 17th century models. And when one pastor mentions his missional approach (in this case, genuinely so), Shannon writes as if the term is brand new rather than 15+ years old.
5. A minor quibble: I think he rather misses the boat in his (brief) rant against communion by intinction. I haven't found it to be a barrier with non-believers in attendance; in fact, I think the participatory nature makes it a rather more attractive approach than tray-passing. And his insistence that communion is inherently personal and individualistic (hence, passing trays is preferable) completely misses the power of demonstrated community and interrelationship that is not just attractive to the culture around us, but goes to the heart of what Jesus does for us: offers us adoption into the Father's family!

Worth reading, but not great.

Good News
A well written and well researched little book. Amid the overall decline of mainline churches, there are what the Heath brothers call "bright spots". These 15 churches, all in different contexts (urban, rural, suburban) have all been growing. Lots to ponder and reflect on here. But overall an encouragement for those who are still loyal to Christ in mainline churches. ... Read more

Product Description
The Religious Duty of Obedience to Law - A Sermon by Ichabod S. Spencer Preached In The Second Presbyterian - Church In Brooklyn, Nov. 24, 1850 is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by Ichabod S. Spencer is in the English language. If you enjoy the works of Ichabod S. Spencer then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection. ... Read more

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Presbyterians: People of the Middle Way addresses the essential beliefs and practices of this reunited faith. The Student Text and Teachers Guide are superb resources for all aspects of church development and redevelopment for congregations of all sizes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

excellent intro to distinctives of presbyterian churches
Does a very good job of breaking down what Presbyterianism is for a modern audience. Avoids reformation theological terms and puts the Pres. theology in World perspective. ... Read more

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The Presbyterian Handbook provides historical and theological information about Presbyterian beliefs alongside fun-filled facts and practical tips on being a churchgoing follower of Jesus Christ. Complete with illustrations, this book presents a wonderful combination of vast truths, complex details, and bits of humor about the Presbyterian understanding of the Christian life. This unique and incredibly handy resource is perfect for Presbyterian youth, adults, students, families, and all those interested in learning about what encompasses life in the church. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Great for Study
I am using this book for elder education as it covers a wide variety of topics from theology to Pastoral Care. My elders have found it funny and thought provactive

Old elders learn new things
I've been both and elder and an employee of the church off and on for over 4o years. I'v taught classes and even given a sermon or two on laymen's Sunday. I found this handbook to very handy, full of good solid information and a handy reference when the old memory begins to fail me. My fellow session members are beginning to pick up on this book and ordering them. There was a proposal that we buy them for all new elders. Hope it passes.

Facts and funny
If you want basic information about Presbyterian theology with a lot of humorous subjects in between, buy this one.We bought copies to give to new members.Learn what to bring for potluck suppers (by region); how to pass the collection plate; what to wear under choir robes in the hot summer plus excellent factual information on who we are as Presbyterians.

A helpful book for Presbyterians.
This is easy-to-read and to understand.A helpful book for those who want to understand Presbyterian beliefs and practices.

Uneven, but full of decent insights
About 200 pocket-sized pages. Unpretentious and casual, but in a self-conscious, studied way. It is openly derivative of the Worst-Case Scenario-style books. But it probably is about ten years too late. The cover is a simple dark blue with an cartoon of John Calvin in glasses. The subheadings are "Church Stuff", "Bible Stuff", "Everyday Stuff." It has the feel of your 60 year old, pleasant but annoying uncle, trying to be cool and funny to the teens at Thanksgiving.

The contributors include Donald McKim. The bibliography is mostly McKim, his old friend ('progressive evangelical,' recently turned homosexual rights advocate) Jack Rogers, and their crowd.

The content -- its tone and quality -- varys wildly from section to section. It feels sewn together from a load of contributors. At times it is very helpful and clear (such as where it explains the levels of Presbyterian church government), at other times extremely goofy, at others incomplete or wrong, at others irrelevent. The only consistent feature is that most sections are concise.

The theological values are basically middle of the road for PCUSA. That means what is defined as "THE Presbyterian" is occasionally unrecognizable to other (non-PCUSA) Presbyterians. But in general it is fairly supportive of the theological heritage and of the Scripture's importance and trustworthiness. My biggest complaint (other than some mild comments questioning the historicity of certain Biblical accounts) is the sometimes overly LOW view of the sacraments.

In any case, MANY, MANY decent tips, comments. I especially like a few of the charts (Bible translations) and lists (esp. Bible ones, like the 12 Apostles summaries, and practical tips for having a regular schedule of Bible reading. etc.).

A few random negative comments, some very picky, I know:
* Dozens of topics big and small (How to pass the plate, what to bring to potlucks) YET ZERO on church discipline.
* No index
* P. 27 Under How to Sing a Praise Song, intentionally 1960s looking illustration bears the caption "Beware of especially passionate worshipers who might raise their hands too quickly." The goofy uncle trying to be funny again.
* Pp. 35-36 -- WAY too brief of an explanation on baptism. The description as it stands does not address re-baptism.
* P. 37 -- Lord's Supper -- states the cup is "usually grape juice." Uggh.Wish they had advocated for wine!
* P. 39 -- States that traditionally Presb. celebrate quarterly or monthly. That may be true, but I wish they had at least mentioned that some have always celebrated weekly, including some of the Reformers.
P. 47-48 on how to stay alert in the service (drink water before, but not too much, etc.). Hard to tell if its trying to be funny.
P. 51 -- What to bring to a church potluck: Cereals: Southeast - cornflakes, Midwest - cornflakes, Northeast - cornflakes, West Coast: TOFU flakes. Desert - Cleveland - fudge brownies w/ fudge frosting; Kansas City - triple fudge w/ fudge sauce and a side of fudge. Los Angeles - TOFU fudge.... Painful. Uncle Floyd at open mike night at the local comedy club.
P. 60 -- The section is entitled History's Six Most Notorious Heretics. But then the choices are a mixture of famous and obscure. How can Hatuey (-1511) be included in the top six? Well, because he is Native American. Similarly, Hypatia of Alexandria (370-415) makes the cut. Why? "Her mistakes were to prefer study to marriage, to know more than the bishop, and to be a female teacher of males." Maybe, but she actually happened to be a powerful and prominent Neo-Platonist pagan too, which had something to do with it. Similarly, Joan of Arc was not declared a heretic for just being a "better army leader than men," was she? Probably more about her political value, or maybe even the bizarre visions.

And here the truly unorthodox (Pelagius) are lumped together with the merely controversial (Luther).

p. 62-63: "How to Avoid Getting Burned at the Stake" section: mocks the concept of heresy.

p. 65: World Religions: list 22 groups, some with less than a million members, but not JWs or Mormons. Makes me think they have incorrectly lumped these two into the 'Xian' category.

p. 68: Family Tree of Xianity is a muddled, misleading mess

p. 69: Xian Denominations -- lumps together all Baptists into one, all Methodists into one, etc., YET Pentecostal/Charismatic AND Assemblies of God each get separate categories. Then the number for Adventist is given as just 100,000! 7th Day Adventists alone are almost a million, never mind the dozens of other Adventist groups. Lots of the numbers on this page are way, way, way off.

p. 70 -- comparative denominations chart: too many problems to list. Rip those pages out.

p. 107ff. "How to choose a spouse" etc.: Oprah-level psychobabble. Trite pop wisdom, with little reference to a Biblical worldview.

p. 189 -- states with indignaion to beware that some Reformation confessions of faith 'prohibited women from baptizing.' This, it explains, was an historic accident of the debates with Roman Catholics. Actually, all of the Reformers did not think women should preach or do any of the roles reserved for ministers. And every side of every debate agreed.

Helpfully ends with blank pages for "Notes & Stuff"

These are mostly negatives. There is lots and lots of good and helpful information in there too. I just don't think it is a reliable tool for the uninformed, nor adds much knowledge or perspective for the more informed.

A whole lot better (though just a tad more difficult) is Sean Michael Lucas' brand new On Being Presbyterian (2006). ... Read more