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Rating: 
Summary: Terrific Book for Pastors, Staff, Church Leaders
Review: Recently it seems that Rick Warren's "The Purpose Driven Church" has been the number one book on church health. I don't know if this one will replace it, but it certainly should be read alongside of PDC. The two are very complementary - they deal with many of the same subjects from slightly different, though certainly not competing, angles. There are many things I could point out about this book that are helpful but the list would get too long. There are 21 chapters and each deals with a different aspect of church leadership and life, and each is valuable. I will point out what I think three most valuable aspects of the book for me. 1 - The Prevailing Church idea - taking his cue from Peter's confession of Christ in Matthew 16 and Jesus' response that that gates of hell would not prevail against the church, Randy Pope argues that to "prevail" is at the heart of the church's identity. He says that "a prevailing church models such a dynamic spirit of worship and servanthood that she becomes a magnet for people needing help. Such a church is a place where insincere people tend to fall away and sincere people long to belong. And, most important, it is a place where nonbelievers find Christ and grow to spiritual maturity. To put it another way, it's a place where the presence of God's power is demonstrated with such force that the community in which it exists is marked with an indelible spiritula imprint." Such a sense of identity would motivate the church against any kind of maintenance, or "precautious" mindset, as Mr. Pope describes it. 2 - The importance of strategic ministry plan - I realize that some will balk at this, as if this means we are to rely on human planning at the expense of the leading of the Spirit. However, this is not what the book portrays at all. A strategic plan for ministry is one that is arrived at through searching the Scriptures, spending hours upon hours in prayer, and then seeking to be obedient to the Scriptures. In my opinion, the author does a marvelous job of dispelling the notion that planning and being led by the spirit are in conflict. And, he does a marvelous job of showing that a strategic plan is often the missing ingredient in ministry. I came away challenged about my own tendency to work very hard to derive a sense of vision and mission, without doing the nuts and bolts work of implementation. 3 - Analysis of culture - chapter 16 is devoted to a "Culturally Oriented Strategy," but throughout the book he gives some interesting tidbits of cultural observation. My favorite anecdote in this regard is the story of his attempt to disciple a man in his congregation using a strategy he had used while in college. This strategy included about 3 meetings per week and who knows how many hours. This may have worked in college but this was a man who was working 60 or more hours per week, and had to travel alot. Mr. Pope's point is that this is the kind of world we live in these days - many are like this man and we have to come up with discipleship strategies that will impact these worlds. I realize that we can all say "people shouldn't be so busy," and I can agree. But the fact is that they are and we have to take them where we find them and move them to maturity. There is much more to say, but I will stop now. It's a great book for those in professional ministry and lay leadership.
Rating:
Summary: Terrific Book for Pastors, Staff, Church Leaders
Review: Recently it seems that Rick Warren's "The Purpose Driven Church" has been the number one book on church health. I don't know if this one will replace it, but it certainly should be read alongside of PDC. The two are very complementary - they deal with many of the same subjects from slightly different, though certainly not competing, angles. There are many things I could point out about this book that are helpful but the list would get too long. There are 21 chapters and each deals with a different aspect of church leadership and life, and each is valuable. I will point out what I think three most valuable aspects of the book for me. 1 - The Prevailing Church idea - taking his cue from Peter's confession of Christ in Matthew 16 and Jesus' response that that gates of hell would not prevail against the church, Randy Pope argues that to "prevail" is at the heart of the church's identity. He says that "a prevailing church models such a dynamic spirit of worship and servanthood that she becomes a magnet for people needing help. Such a church is a place where insincere people tend to fall away and sincere people long to belong. And, most important, it is a place where nonbelievers find Christ and grow to spiritual maturity. To put it another way, it's a place where the presence of God's power is demonstrated with such force that the community in which it exists is marked with an indelible spiritula imprint." Such a sense of identity would motivate the church against any kind of maintenance, or "precautious" mindset, as Mr. Pope describes it. 2 - The importance of strategic ministry plan - I realize that some will balk at this, as if this means we are to rely on human planning at the expense of the leading of the Spirit. However, this is not what the book portrays at all. A strategic plan for ministry is one that is arrived at through searching the Scriptures, spending hours upon hours in prayer, and then seeking to be obedient to the Scriptures. In my opinion, the author does a marvelous job of dispelling the notion that planning and being led by the spirit are in conflict. And, he does a marvelous job of showing that a strategic plan is often the missing ingredient in ministry. I came away challenged about my own tendency to work very hard to derive a sense of vision and mission, without doing the nuts and bolts work of implementation. 3 - Analysis of culture - chapter 16 is devoted to a "Culturally Oriented Strategy," but throughout the book he gives some interesting tidbits of cultural observation. My favorite anecdote in this regard is the story of his attempt to disciple a man in his congregation using a strategy he had used while in college. This strategy included about 3 meetings per week and who knows how many hours. This may have worked in college but this was a man who was working 60 or more hours per week, and had to travel alot. Mr. Pope's point is that this is the kind of world we live in these days - many are like this man and we have to come up with discipleship strategies that will impact these worlds. I realize that we can all say "people shouldn't be so busy," and I can agree. But the fact is that they are and we have to take them where we find them and move them to maturity. There is much more to say, but I will stop now. It's a great book for those in professional ministry and lay leadership.
Rating:
Summary: Great
Review: This a great read for leaders of today
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