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Rating: 
Summary: Growing through the barriers
Review: This is a must-read for church leaders who want to grow their church through the barriers of size and expectations of the congregation. Each increment poses its own problems for growth, but George helps us understand the expectations of the congregation and gives suggestions on how to help the church grow rather than stay the same. He also gives examples of leadership styles that will enable the pastoral leader to know what works best in different situations. Read it and decide if you want your church to grow!
Rating: 
Summary: Is This Church Growth the Jesus Way?
Review: What has happened to repent and believe? This is Jesus' way of saving! His Words of grace and forgiveness in the gospel purely preached and the right administration of the Sacraments of baptism and communion --- these are how Jesus says the church grows!George wants to alter this to what the people want. They certainly don't want this means of grace stuff going on. No, they would rather have the "helpful, practical prescriptions, both spiritual and numerical" that George offers here. Bogged down at a number of attendees? 100? 200? 400? 800? George has slick answers from marketing and sociology and church growth experts, but not much from God's Word that I can find. Oh, there are Biblical quotes, but check them out carefully, noticing context and other places the Bible speaks on this and you'll find like me that there are very suspect as being anywhere near what God wants to say. For example, does God want the church to be run like the discovery and manufacture of aspirin? (page 58-59) This is more of Church Growth desire to have the church be relevant and successful in a culture which it seems more and more deplores the truth (see 2 Timothy 4:3ff) which is not at all that bad of desire. But to let the desired results drives the means without God's saying so is unbiblical, unchristian, and dangerous.
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