Andy Stanley – författare

Everybody wants to be happy. Everybody is on a happiness quest. For many, happiness is measured in moments. Experiences. It's elusive. Unsustainable. What about you? What makes you happy? Something comes to mind for each of us.In this six-session video Bible study (DVD/digital video sold separately), pastor Andy Stanley examines the ways in which we tend to define happiness and explains how that definition influences the way we pursue it. He reveals that happiness is about who, not what, and that happy people are at peace with God, with others, and with themselves. He also shows how sin undermines peace because it separates us from God, others, and ourselves by substituting pleasure for fulfillment, things for people, images for intimacy, and self-expression for self-control.We are often tempted to believe that happiness comes from acquiring things, but happiness is actually an outcome of what we sow in our lives. We can’t acquire, consume, or exercise our way to happiness, but we may be able to serve and volunteer our way there. In the end, we find that if we live as if it’s all about us, we will never be happy.Sessions include:NothingPlan for ItPeace with GodHappy MoneyShoesYou’re Not EnoughDesigned for use with the What Makes You Happy Video Study (sold separately).

Ever wonder what it would be like to have guardrails in other areas of your life—areas where culture baits you to the edge of disaster and then chastises you when you step across the line? Your friendships. Your finances. Your marriage. Maybe your greatest regret could have been avoided if you had established guardrails.In this five-session video-based small group Bible study (video sold separately), Andy Stanley challenges us to stop flirting with disaster and establish some personal guardrails.Sessions include: Direct and ProtectProximityForever YoursMoney MattersThe Heart of the MatterDesigned for use with the Guardrails Video Study (9780310095910), sold separately.

Author and pastor Andy Stanley explains what made the earliest Christian movement so compelling and resilient...and what we need to change today to make it so again.Once upon a time there was a version of the Christian faith that was practically irresistible. After all, what could be more so than the gospel that Jesus ushered in? Why, then, isn't it the same with Christianity today?In this six-session video Bible study (DVD/video streaming not included), Pastor Andy answers questions like:What did first-century Christians know that we don't—about God's Word, about their lives, about love?What did they do that we're not doing?What makes Christianity so resistible in today's culture?What needs to change in order to repeat the growth our faith had at its beginning?Andy is deeply concerned with the present-day church and its future, and he believes that many of the solutions to our issues can be found by investigating our roots. It's time to hit pause and consider the faith modeled by our first-century brothers and sisters who had no official Bible, no status, and little chance of survival. It's time to embrace the version of faith that initiated—against all human odds—a chain of events resulting in the most significant and extensive cultural transformation the world has ever seen.This is a version of Christianity we must remember and re-embrace if we want to be salt and light in an increasingly savorless and dark world.Designed for use with the Irresistible Video Study (9780310100515) and the Irresistible core book (9780310536970), sold separately.

A fresh look at the earliest Christian movement reveals what made the new faith so compelling...and what we need to change today to make it so again. Once upon a time there was a version of the Christian faith that was practically irresistible. After all, what could be more so than the gospel that Jesus ushered in? Why, then, isn't it the same with Christianity today?Author and pastor Andy Stanley is deeply concerned with the present-day church and its future. He believes that many of the solutions to our issues can be found by investigating our roots. In Irresistible, Andy chronicles what made the early Jesus Movement so compelling, resilient, and irresistible by answering these questions:What did first-century Christians know that we don't—about God's Word, about their lives, about love?What did they do that we're not doing?What makes Christianity so resistible in today's culture?What needs to change in order to repeat the growth our faith had at its beginning?Many people who leave or disparage the faith cite reasons that have less to do with Jesus than with the conduct of his followers. It's time to hit pause and consider the faith modeled by our first-century brothers and sisters who had no official Bible, no status, and little chance of survival. It's time to embrace the version of faith that initiated—against all human odds—a chain of events resulting in the most significant and extensive cultural transformation the world has ever seen.This is a version of Christianity we must remember and re-embrace if we want to be salt and light in an increasingly savorless and dark world.

Rediscover the improbable story of Christmas.Four thousand years ago, God promised he would do something through the bloodline of Abraham. Two thousand years later, Jesus was born. And two thousand years after that, we’re still talking about it.Why?The story of Jesus’ birth was not what anyone expected: a baby . . . born in the armpit of the Mediterranean . . . to save us from sins that no one thought we needed saving from.This Christmas season, join Andy Stanley as he unpacks why the improbability of the Christmas story is what makes it so believable. No one could have or would have made it up.The Who Needs Christmas Study Guide includes session overviews, video teaching notes, discussion questions, personal reflection material, and a leader’s guide.Sessions include:The Story Behind the StoryThe Author of LifeThe Message of ChristmasReady or Not . . . He Is ComingDesigned for use with the Who Needs Christmas / Why Easter Matters Video Study (9780310121121), sold separately. Streaming video also available.

Have you ever been at odds with God?Have you resisted, defied, or tried to bargain your way out of what you thought God wanted?You aren’t alone. Scripture documents similar stories.In this Easter Study Andy Stanley looks at some of the people whose lives intersected with Jesus in the weeks leading to his crucifixion. Each of them had an agenda that put them at odds with God and Jesus. As you’ll see, there’s a little bit of them in all of us.The Why Easter Matters Study Guide includes session overviews, video teaching notes, discussion questions, personal reflection material, and a leader’s guide.Sessions include:The High Cost of Following ChristThe Risk of Surrendering to GodThe God Who Can Be TrustedThe Foundation of Our FaithDesigned for use with the Who Needs Christmas / Why Easter Matters Video Study (9780310121121), sold separately. Streaming video also available.

Uncover the five key questions that can change everything about your decision-making process and rewrite the story of your life...one decision at a time. Our decisions don't just affect our present circumstances; they radiate into our future. Most of the time, it's impossible to know what will come of the decisions we make. But this doesn't have to paralyze you. You can train yourself to ask well-placed, appropriately timed, thought-provoking questions that will result in stronger decisions and fewer disappointments down the road.In this six-session video study (DVD/digital download sold separately), author and pastor Andy Stanley gives you five key questions to ask when you have a decision to make and you're not sure what to do (or even if you think you do know what to do!). These five simple questions will empower you to:Pause when feeling tension over a decisionTake the long viewLook for the wise optionFocus on the relational impact of decisionsEvery decision we make impacts our stories and the stories of those closest to us. It's time to start deciding with our heads instead of with our guts.Sessions Include:More Than a DecisionThe Integrity QuestionThe Legacy QuestionThe Conscience QuestionThe Maturity QuestionThe Relationship QuestionDesigned for use with the Better Decisions, Fewer Regrets Video Study available on DVD or streaming video, sold separately.

Is it possible to disagree politically and love unconditionally? The reaction of evangelicals to political and cultural shifts in recent years revealed what they value most. Lurking beneath our Bible-laced rhetoric, faith claims, books, and sermons is a relentless drive to WIN!But the church is not here to win. By every human measure, our Savior lost. On purpose. With a purpose. And we are his body. We are not in it to win anything. We are in it for something else entirely. That something else is what this book is about.You'll discover:How to take a stand the right way. You'll learn how to make your case with a posture of humility and understanding, rather than being fueled by the fear of losing something.How to view politics through the lens of faith. Learn curiously, listen intentionally, and love unconditionally.How the life of Jesus and his teaching applies to modern-day challenges in a fresh way. The "biblical" stand may not be what we've been taught.Jesus never asked his followers to agree on everything. But he did call his followers to obey a new command: to love others in the same way he has loved us. Instead of asserting our rights or fighting for power, we need to begin asking ourselves: what does love require of me?

Parent with purpose and feel confident about raising a healthy and happy family.In the six-session video study (video streaming code included), Andy and Sandra combine their experience and wisdom to help viewers identify and embrace their it—their win as parents. In an inviting and conversational approach that is both informative and accessible, the Stanleys discuss:The four stages of parenting and how to excel at each stage.How to parent with the end goals in mind.An approach to discipline that strengthens relationships and increases trust and respect.How to help your child develop a strong faith of their own. As parents of three grown children and cofounders of North Point Ministries, one of the largest church networks in the country, the Stanleys are seasoned experts on faith and parenting. Together they have spent decades counseling families and mentoring moms and dads while leaning into mentors of their own.With their help, you won’t have to constantly wonder whether you’re getting it right as a parent. Start here and feel confident about raising children who will enjoy being together and with you, even when they’re no longer living under your roof.This study guide has everything you need for a full Bible study experience, including:The study guide itself—with discussion and reflection questions, video notes, and a leader’s guide.An individual access code to stream all video sessions online. (DVD also available separately.)Sessions and video run times:Your North Star (21:00)The Four Stages of Parenting (21:30)The Role of Words (22:30)Marriage Matters (22:00)Establishing Rules and Consequences (20:00)Developing a Faith of Their Own (17:00)Streaming video access code included. Access code subject to expiration after 12/31/2028. Code may be redeemed only by the recipient of this package. Code may not be transferred or sold separately from this package. Internet connection required. Void where prohibited, taxed, or restricted by law. Additional offer details inside

There are lots of books about discovering or developing a vision for your organization, but this one is about making that vision endure the corrosion of time and complexity--how to make your vision stick.Influential author and pastor Andy Stanley reveals the reasons why leaders' visions often falter, and he delivers 5 in-depth strategies so that you can dodge the pitfalls:How to state your vision simply.How to cast your vision convincingly.How to repeat your vision regularly.How to celebrate your vision systematically.How to embrace your vision personally.Many of us have good ideas, even great ones. The difficult part is putting them into practice and keeping that vision clear and visible to your organization--whether that's a business or a church--when there are so many things in the day-to-day living of that vision that can distract from it.Making Vision Stick offers valuable, practical tips and case studies. This is a book you'll want to highlight and dog-ear and pass around as you learn how to propel your organization toward the vision God has granted you.Vision is about what could be and should be, but life is about right this minute. The test of a true leader is in keeping that vision on track, day in and day out.

Join Andy Stanley for Twisting the Truth, a six-session small group Bible study developed to help you and your group understand how truth can get twisted and distorted, and how that impacts your life.Throughout the study Stanley exposes four destructive and all-too-prevalent lies about authority, pain, sex, and sin. They’re deceptions powerful enough to ruin our relationships, our lives, even our eternities—but only if we let them.With his gift for straight, to-the-heart communication, Andy Stanley helps us exchange falsehoods for truths that can turn our lives completely around.This Participant Guide is filled with helpful discussion starters, video overviews, space for writing down thoughts, a helpful Leader’s Guide and much more. It’s designed to be used with the companion Twisting the Truth DVD (sold separately) which features six 10-15 minute live teaching sessions from Andy Stanley.Sessions include: 1. The Sound of Deception 2. All Is Not as It Seems3. Says Who? 4. Facing Forward5. It’s Only Physical 6. It’s No Mistake

Discover the difference between faith and hope. . .and why that difference matters.In this five-session, video-based Bible study (DVD sold separately), Andy Stanley unpacks the power of faith and the need for maintaining your confidence in Jesus Christ amid the ups and downs of daily life.If you grew up in a religious home, you were probably taught that God answers prayers. Maybe you were even taught that if you just had enough faith, God would say yes to what you were asking him to do. But many Christians wonder:  How much faith is enough?Is there a relationship between what we do and what God will do?If God doesn't answer our prayers, does that mean our faith is weak? Our faith in God often hinges on his activity?or inactivity?in our daily experiences. Sure, faith soars when our prayers are answered. But when he doesn't come through, our confidence often wanes… It's not supposed to be that way, and it doesn't have to be!Faith, Hope, and Luck will help transform your understanding of faith. Andy Stanley explains what we can expect of God every time we come to him with a request. And he exposes the flaws in what some have labeled The Faith Movement. This Participant Guide is filled with helpful discussion starters, video overviews, and a helpful Leader’s Guide. It’s designed to be used with the companion Faith, Hope and Luck DVD (sold separately). When used together they provide a powerful catalyst for spiritual growth.Sessions include:1. Better Odds2. Betting on Hope3. Beating the Odds4. No Dice5. All In

Imagine what life would be like if you had PERFECT faith. In this video-based Bible study (DVD sold separately), pastor and best-selling author Andy Stanley builds a biblical case for five things God uses to grow BIG faith.Imagine how different your outlook on life would be if you had absolute confidence that God was with you. Imagine how differently you would respond to difficulties, temptations, and even good things if you believed with certainty that God was in all of it and was planning to leverage every circumstance for good.This Participant Guide is filled with helpful discussion starters, video overviews, a Leader's Guide and much more. It's designed to be used with the companion Five Things God Uses to Grow Your Faith DVD (sold separately). When used together they provide a powerful catalyst for spiritual growth.Sessions include: 1. Big Faith 2. Practical Teaching 3. Providential Relationships4. Private Disciplines5. Personal Ministry 6. Pivotal Circumstances

For anyone who is dating or thinking about marriage, pastor and bestselling author Andy Stanley shares practical, uncensored wisdom on avoiding mistakes in the present to help you avoid regrets in the future.Single? Looking for the "right person"? Convinced that if you met the "right person" everything would turn out "right?" Think again.In The New Rules for Love, Sex, and Dating, Andy Stanley explores the challenges, assumptions, and pitfalls associated with dating in the twenty-first century. This guide takes a fresh approach to dating and love in the modern era by turning the search for "the one" back onto the searcher, challenging you to ask yourself tough questions like:Am I the person that the person I'm looking for is looking for?Are the Bible's teachings about women relevant today?If sex is only physical, why is the pain of sexual sin so deep?As you dig deep into Stanley's answers, you'll be equipped and empowered to step up and set a new standard for this generation by uncovering the things that create trouble in dating relationships and creating better habits now that will pay off later as you dive into married life.Praise for The New Rules for Love, Sex, and Dating: "No one speaks more powerfully and practically into the issues of dating and marriage in the twenty-first century than Andy Stanley. The New Rules for Love, Sex, and Dating is an exceptional resource for anyone seeking to navigate challenging relationship waters and survive in a culture that's confused and complex. Straightforward. Graceful. Truthful. Needed." --Louie Giglio, Passion City Church, Passion Conferences"Andy's new rules for love, sex, and dating are so wise, so compelling, so clear that I want every single friend I have to read this book, and I want to save a couple copies for my boys, so they can read it in a decade or so." --Shauna Niequist, author of I Guess I Haven't Learned That Yet"Having experienced more than my fair share of destructive, harmful dating relationships, I can authoritatively say that Andy's views on the matter are clear and convicting. Andy so beautifully conveys the message of the unfathomable grace of God, leaving you free to turn a leaf and begin a new dating chapter, making better decisions and living with fewer regrets." —Maggie Bridges, Miss Georgia 2014

Am I getting parenting right? Most parents, at any and every stage, find themselves asking this question.Whether you're sleep deprived with a colicky newborn or navigating the emotional roller coaster of a teenager, parenting has its ups and downs, its confusion and clarity, its big blowups and small victories. And no matter our family makeup or our children's personalities, many of us experience anxiety over our children's futures and often fear making a mistake.Andy and Sandra Stanley are no strangers to this feeling. As parents of three grown children and cofounders of North Point Ministries, they are seasoned experts on faith and parenting. Together they have spent decades counseling countless families, mentoring others, and learning from mentors of their own, all while leading one of the largest churches in the country.In Parenting: Getting It Right, Andy and Sandra combine their experience and wisdom into a guide that helps readers understand and live by essential parenting principles. In an inviting, conversational approach that is both informative and accessible, the Stanleys help readers understand the most important goal in parenting and learn the steps to pursue it by:Learning the four distinct stages of parentingClarifying the primary goal of parenting and developing a parenting orientation around that goalIdentifying and adapting their approach--not their rules--to their children's distinct personalitiesDeciding on their shortlist of non-negotiables and learning to stick to it You don't have to constantly doubt if you're getting it right as a parent. Start here and feel confident about raising a healthy and happy family.

Essential Parenting Principles for Every Stage of Your Child's Life.Whether you're sleep deprived with a colicky newborn or navigating the emotional roller coaster of a teenager, parenting has its ups and downs, its confusion and clarity, its big blowups and small victories. And no matter our family makeup or our children's personalities, many of us experience anxiety over our children's futures and often fear making a mistake.Andy and Sandra Stanley are no strangers to this feeling. As parents of three grown children and cofounders of North Point Ministries, they are seasoned experts on faith and parenting. Together they have spent decades counseling countless families, mentoring others, and learning from mentors of their own, all while leading one of the largest churches in the country.In Parenting: Getting It Right, Andy and Sandra combine their experience and wisdom into a guide that helps readers understand and live by essential parenting principles. In an inviting, conversational approach that is both informative and accessible, the Stanleys help readers understand the most important goal in parenting and learn the steps to pursue it by:Learning the four distinct stages of parentingClarifying the primary goal of parenting and developing a parenting orientation around that goalIdentifying and adapting their approach--not their rules--to their children's distinct personalitiesDeciding on their shortlist of non-negotiables and learning to stick to it You don't have to constantly doubt if you're getting it right as a parent. Start here and feel confident about raising a healthy and happy family.

In this four-session small group Bible study (DVD/digital video sold separately), Andy Stanley unpacks four questions that will help you make sound decisions with God’s help.Throughout our lives, we’re confronted with decisions we never anticipated having to make – relational, career, financial, parenting – the list goes on and on. The complicate matters further the timeframe for making a decision is often short and our options limited. But regardless, a decision needs to be made.So what do you do when it’s your move and you aren’t sure what to do?Follow Andy as he teaches how every decision and its outcome become a permanent part of your story, what to do when you feel the need to pause before taking action, and how to make more of this life by making sound decisions.This Participant Guide includes discussion questions, video overview, space for taking notes, and a helpful Leader’s Guide. When used with the companion Your Move DVD (sold separately) it works as a powerful catalyst for spiritual growth.Sessions include:ReallyThe Story of Your LifePay Attention to the TensionPassing It OnDesigned for use with the Your Move Video Study (sold separately).

In this four-session small group Bible study (DVD/digital video sold separately), pastor Andy Stanley discusses how to stay in love once you fall in love.We all know what’s required to fall in love… a pulse. Falling in love is easy. But staying there—that’s something else entirely. With more than a thousand matchmaking services available today and new ones springing up all the time, finding a romantic match can be easier than ever. But staying together with the one you’ve found seems to be the real challenge.So, is it possible for two people to fall in love and actually stay there? Absolutely! Let Andy Stanley show you how through the four sessions of Staying in Love. This Participant Guide includes discussion questions, video overview, space for taking notes, and a helpful Leader’s Guide.Sessions include:Love Is a VerbRe-ModelingFeelin’ ItMultiple Choice MarriageDesigned for use with the Staying in Love Video Study (sold separately).

You probably don't feel rich. Rich is the other guy. Rich is having more than you currently have. But you can be rich and not feel it. And that's the problem. Andy Stanley is convinced that most of us are richer than we think. We just aren't very good at it. It's one thing to BE rich. Andy wants us to be GOOD at it!"How to Be Rich lays out clear principles for carrying that load, making sure your wealth remains a blessing not just for you, but for your family and community for generations to come."—DAVE RAMSEY, New York Times bestselling author and radio show host

A Close Look at What It Takes to Create an Irresistible Church.This isn't a book about how to make your church bigger. This is a book about how to make your church more appealing to the people who don’t usually—or have never—gone to church.Deep and Wide provides church leaders with an in-depth look into North Point Community Church and its strategies, its goals, its methods, and its story. You'll learn how to create a church that unchurched people absolutely love to attend. Pastor Andy Stanley explains:His strategy for preaching and programming to both mature believers and skeptics.North Point's spiritual formation model: The Five Faith Catalysts.Three essential ingredients for creating irresistible environments.How to tackle the challenge of transitioning a local congregation. Updated & Expanded edition includes discussion guide, church staff resources, and a Q&A with Andy!"Andy Stanley is on the front lines of a major shift in how both Christians and non-Christians experience "church" in America. In Deep and Wide, Andy opens up his playbook for how North Point Community Church grew into one of the nation's most effective churches, openly shares their victories and failures, and shows you how to take your own church deeper in the Word and wider in appeal." —Dave Ramsey, New York Times bestselling author and nationally syndicated radio show host.

“Andy Stanley's seven essentials come directly from his thoughtful, curious approach to leadership and life. If you want to lead better, read this book.” —John C. Maxwell, New York Times bestselling authorGreat is what great does.In What Great Leaders Do, bestselling author Andy Stanley provides leaders with their to-do list. Seven essentials to ensure leaders and their organizations execute with maximum efficiency. These seven essentials will equip you to:Ask the right questionsLead yourself well.Play to your strengths.Differentiate between problems to solve and tensions to manage.Leverage your intuition and the intuition of your team.“Leadership is challenging. You want to get it right. I want to help. Specifically, I want to help you become a leader worth following. A leader who goes the distance. Leadership is a wonderful, dangerous gift. You’re stuck with it. Go do something great with it.” —Andy Stanley

Set yourself up for success in every season of life, for the rest of your life.Discover five game-changing questions to ask every time you make a major decision regarding your finances, relationships, career, and more.Good questions lead to better decisions. And your decisions determine the direction and quality of your life—they create the story of your life. And while nobody plans to complicate their life with bad decisions, far too many people have no plan to make good decisions.In Better Decisions, Fewer Regrets, Andy Stanley—pastor and bestselling author of Irresistible and Not In It To Win It—will help you learn from experience and stop making bad decisions by integrating five questions into every decision you make, big or small.This book will help you live differently by showing you how to:Develop a decision-making filter that reveals which choices will likely lead to positive results.Avoid selling yourself on bad ideas and making quick decisions when time is short.Find truth and clarity in any tricky decision.Improve relationships and heal division through better decisions.Discover the reasons behind your decisions so you can move forward with positive changes.Consider the long-term impact of your choices so you can write a life story worth celebrating.Easily identify any red flags that signal which decisions may result in future regrets.

Every Sunday people walk into your church and decide if they will return the following week before the preacher even opens his mouth. Many of those people don't know what to make of Jesus. They're hesitant to be in church. They're not sure they belong. But over and over in the pages of scripture, we see something extraordinary.People who were nothing like Jesus liked Jesus.Shouldn't that be true of the church as well?In Going Deep & Wide, Andy Stanley lays out a blueprint and offers practical steps to help you turn up the irresistible in your church. Each section includes discussion materials that walk you deeper into the content of Deep & Wide and invites conversations about how to apply what you've learned.

In this four-session video Bible study (DVD/digital video sold separately), bestselling author and pastor Andy Stanley takes a closer look at one of the unique things Christians believe: God became one of us. Why in the world would God do that? Why would God leave the comfort and recognition of heaven to live on this ball of dirt in a time before morphine and indoor plumbing when the best of conditions barely paralleled the worst of modern-day conditions? Why?We think we know why He died. But what compelled him to live as one of us?Sessions include:To Communicate and DemonstrateLike Son, Like FatherClasslessPutting Religion in Its PlaceAs the founder of North Point Ministries—comprised of six churches in the Atlanta area serving more than 36,000 people weekly, as well as a network of 30 churches around the globe—Andy Stanley is uniquely positioned to reach an engaged and ever-growing ministry.Designed for use with the Why in the World Video Study (sold separately).

Why is there so little agreement on what it means to be a Christian? In this eight-session video-based Bible study (DVD/digital video sold separately), join pastor and bestselling author Andy Stanley as he examines the characteristics Jesus used to define those who follow him and the implications these characteristics have for believers today.In Christian: It's Not What You Think, you'll learn:The one word that should be descriptive of every Christian.How Jesus' followers should treat those who are outside the faith.Why people love Jesus but can't stand his followers. So, what does it mean to be Christian? Curiously, the term 'Christian' was a label used by outsiders to define Jesus' followers. Jesus simply used 'disciple' to describe his followers and stressed the fact that they would be known by their love—a radical concept not only in their day, but in ours as well.Throughout these eight sessions, Andy Stanley unpacks the qualities Jesus prescribes for his followers that made them unique. What if believers today embodied these traits and put them before all others? Would the non-believing world put aside its derisive definition of 'Christian' and instead know us by our love?Sessions include:Brand RecognitionQuittersInsiders, OutsidersShowing UpWhen Gracie Met TruthyAngry BirdsLoopholesWorking It Out Designed for use with the Christian Video Study 9780310693352 (sold separately).

Community. It's a word we often hear, but what does it really mean? And why is it so important to your spiritual life? Because you can’t grow spiritually unless you’re connected relationally. God designed us that way. He wants to use other people to grow us and he wants to use us to grow other people.In this 8-session video-based study (DVD/digital video sold separately), specifically designed for launching new small groups well, you’ll explore how building deep relationships with the people in your small group and serving in the larger community around you will grow your faith. You’ll learn why your unique story matters… to God and to the people you do life with.Community is a great way for small groups to grow together and for churches to connect new people in their congregation. This conversation guide is a necessary tool walking you through each session with group starters, leader’s notes, discussion questions, and weekly reading.Sessions include:Show UpPursue GodJoin InBe Real Part 1Be Real Part 2Be Real Part 3Be the ChurchBe TogetherDesigned for use with Community Video Study (sold separately).

You had a first day of school, a first date, a first kiss, a first job.  But here’s something you may not have considered—faith has a starting point.  Starting Point is a conversational environment where you can explore faith and experience community.  It's a safe place for you to ask questions and to learn about the Bible and Christianity.  You may have questions that you’ve always wondered about but never felt you could ask at church, legitimate questions that would make many Christians uncomfortable. Ask them. Nothing is off-limits. We want to have conversations about the stuff that really matters to you, even when it’s difficult to talk about—especially when it’s difficult to talk about. We believe that God loves you . . . specifically. And we believe he’s big enough to handle your toughest questions, darkest moments, and deepest doubts. We want to honor him and you by creating an environment where you can be open, honest, and transparent. This study is for: SEEKERS: those who are curious about God, Jesus, the Bible, or Christianity STARTERS: those who have just begun a relationship with Jesus Christ RETURNERS: those who have some church experience but have been away for a while  During the eight sessions, you will: Use this Starting Point Conversation Guide to reflect on central questions of faith and life. Watch the video component each week in preparation or as part of the discussion. Explore and share what you’re learning with other people in a conversational environment. Come as you are and build relationships with others as you discover your starting point.  Sessions Include: Start Problem Trust Rules Jesus Grace Faith Invitation Designed for use with the Starting Point Video Study (9780310817734), sold separately.

No matter what you believe, no matter how you behave, Jesus invites you to follow him.Lots of people think Christianity is all about doing what Jesus says. But what if doing what Jesus says isn’t what Jesus says to do at all? Jesus' invitation is an invitation to relationship, and it begins with a simple request: follow me.Religion says, "Change and you can join us." Jesus says, "Join us and you will change." There's a huge difference. Being a sinner doesn't disqualify anyone. Being an unbeliever doesn't disqualify anyone. In fact, following Jesus almost always begins with a sinner and unbeliever taking one small step.In this eight-session video-based Bible study (DVD/digital video sold separately), pastor and best-selling author Andy Stanley takes small groups on a journey through the Gospels as he traces Jesus' teaching on what it means to follow.Sessions include:Jesus SaysNext StepsFearlessFollow WearThe Fine PrintWhat I Want to WantLeading GreatUnfollowDesigned for use with Follow Video Study 9780310823551 (sold separately).