Words to Die for: Verses That Shaped the Lives of 30 People Who Changed the World

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Summary: Words to Die for: Verses That Shaped the Lives of 30 People
Review: This is an excellent devotional book that also gives wonderful sermon illustrations. L Kimbrough gives short biographical stories that are worth reading and sharing.

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Summary: Good Review but Little New
Review: With The Kingdom Focused Church Dr. Gene Mims has written a book he hopes will help bring ministers back to an appropriate focus, which he identifies specifically as a kingdom focus. Mims states that while most ministers he knows are creative, well-informed and solid people, try as the might, they simply cannot find the right combinations of programs that will ensure their local churches are thriving, fulfilling the Great Commission and building the lives of believers in these churches.

The answer, Mims believes, is shifting the church's focus from programs that emphasize procedures and mechanics more than they do results. The kingdom focused church, Mims says, will take biblical principles and put them together for effective ministry (p. 117) thereby energizing congregations that have been crippled because they have been sidetracked by too many, and inappropriate, goals. The kingdom focused church will develop myopic vision concentrating primarily on the three biblical tasks of making disciples, maturing believers and multiplying ministries.

Mims concludes The Kingdom Focused Church by presenting the reader with five models or churches he believes have developed a kingdom focus. These models of kingdom focused churches are, Saddleback Community Church in Lake Forest, CA; Willow Creek in suburban Chicago, IL; Southeastern Christian Church in Louisville, KY; First Baptist Church in Daytona Beach, FL; and Fellowship Church in Irving TX. Though the specifics of each church are dramatically different, Mims says all five have developed and maintained a kingdom focus and that focus is what is responsible for their dramatic numerical growth and size.

One of the weaknesses of Mims book is recognized and stated by the author himself. "I hasten to say that . . . my comments are not based on scientific models." He then hastens to add a "but" to this admission: ". . . they are solid as qualitative models often are." (pp. 23-24). If the reader is looking for a book that has quantifiable, verifiable data he should look elsewhere as Mims simply does not seek to validate his claims with objective evidence.

Another weakness in the book is that it takes the author seventy pages to get into the meat of his premise. Since the book contains only 182 pages, this is a significant percentage of the book. The first seventy pages of the book are spent discussing what is meant by the title The Kingdom Focused Church. Mims devotes three chapters to the four words, "The," "Kingdom Focused," "Church," and what he means by each of those four words. If he had left nothing else out of the first seventy pages, he could have left out his discussion of the word "The" in the title and lost little or nothing regarding his premise.

The author himself identifies the third weakness of the book, also. "It is not likely that I have said much in this book that is new to you" (p. 179). This is an accurate statement. If the reader is seeking some new or unfamiliar information The Kingdom Focused Church will, most likely, not contain it.

A final weakness in the book is that all the models Mims holds forth as being kingdom-focused churches are mega-churches. The mega-church phenomenon makes up an incredibly small percentage of churches in the United States. The inference Mims makes by using these as his models is that (1) if your church becomes kingdom focused it can become a mega-church too, and, (2) if your church isn't a mega-church it must be that your church isn't kingdom focused. This is simplistic and does not take into account something as simple as changes in the environment that can have a dramatic impact on church growth and membership. For example, the city running a new parkway five miles away from your building as opposed to a half block away.
In spite of the weaknesses the book has several strengths. Though the first seventy pages could have been left out, or at least significantly reduced, without damaging the premise of the book, these pages are, nonetheless, motivational. The first chapter, In Search of the Perfect Church, is worth reading and rereading, especially during those inevitable down times when a minister feels despondent due to condition of his congregation and begins thinking it might be time to move on. This chapter would be beneficial reading for any member of any church, minister or layperson. Mims encourages the reader to truly come to grips with the harsh reality that there is no perfect church and that changing churches will not solve the problem of the imperfect church.

The section in the book that was most informative and helpful to this reviewer was chapters 11, 12, and 13. This seems to really be the nuts and bolts of the book. His discussion of open groups, closed groups, and to a lesser degree ministry teams gives the reader some good strategical insights for taking a person from being a new member and developing them into developing an involved member.

The final chapter reverts back to the style of the first seventy pages. While it contains no new information it is motivational nonetheless. It encourages the minister, among other things, to "be the leader you are" (not some other leader), and to "never fear methods."

While the book contains little new or innovative material it's not bad if the reader will approach The Kingdom Focused Church as a brief review of information the reader has come across in other places and is already familiar with