Redeveloping the Congregation: A How To for Lasting Change
By Mary K. Sellon, Daniel P. Smith, and Gail F. Grossman
(Alban Institute, 2002)
ISBN 1-56699-270-2; paper; 144 pp.
Book Review by David Tinney
If you're looking for a quick fix for your church's falling attendance or failing ministry, Redeveloping the Congregation: A How To for Lasting Change is not your best source for easy solutions. But if you are looking for a deep, systemic transformation that will capture the hearts and minds of your congregation and pump life back into your dying church, this book is for you.
Authors Mary K. Sellon, Daniel P. Smith, and Gail F. Grossman are not one of your megachurch guru teams offering a cookie-cutter scheme to grow your church. They don't write about renewal, or revitalization, or even resuscitation of our dying churches. If change is to last, then there needs to be resurrection! Redevelopment offers that resurrection journey because it means turning away from old habits and attitudes that didn't work, being connected again to the call that God has placed upon our hearts, and then shifting from an inward focus of maintenance to an outward focus of ministry and mission.
The authors have used the secular studies of John P. Kotter, a retired professor of organizational behavior at Harvard Business School, and applied it to the church. By taking Kotter's eight steps of organizational change and bathing it in theology, spirituality, and ecclesial language, they have provided a truly powerful tool that is both practical and inspiring. The book is divided into eight chapters corresponding to the eight steps, and those chapters are broken into three segments — the mentor, which presents the theory; the companion, which shares wisdom for the journey; and the coach, which provides meaningful direction and instructions in working through a plan. Once I got used to the three different voices I looked forward to the unique insights each brought to the table. I particularly enjoyed the voice of the companion because it expressed the fears, doubts, and frustrations that I was having as I worked through the steps with my congregation.
In the early chapters I thought this was going to be a book only for churches teetering on death's door, but I soon realized it contained tremendous wisdom for any pastor or layperson who knew that his or her church was not living up to its holy potential. The masterful way this book is written allows church leaders to find themselves within those eight steps, soak up the wisdom of that task, and then move forward.
In a time when there are more "how-to-grow-your-congregation" books than you can shake a stick at, Redeveloping the Congregation rises to the top with its rich blend of secular wisdom and spiritual insights.
Click here to read Chapter 1 (in pdf format):
http://www.alban.org/pdf/chapters/Chap_AL260.pdf.
Available from Cokesbury, 800-672-1789,
www.cokesbury.com.
Book Review: Seeking and Doing God's Will
The Rev. David Tinney is pastor of Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Bellevue, Washington. Aldersgate is presently using Mary Sellon, one of the authors, as a coach as they go through the process of visioning and leadership development.
| Book Review: Seeking and Doing God's Will