On the Verge- A Book Review

 I recently found out about the opportunity to blog on this book and I took it.  The funny thing is, I already bought the book on NOOK and had read it because the title intrigued me as well as the fact that I enjoy and respect the authors very much.

  If I am honest, one simple review of this book will not be enough.  There is so much meat in this book that there isn't enough time and space to discuss the implications of it all here in this blog.  Yet, I will do my best to do so.

  The authors: Hirsch and Ferguson are men that not only teach what the next wave of church ministry should look like, they are actually out there creating it and doing it.  This book is a compilation of what these men have seen now and are seeing into the future as it pertains to the church, her future and the shifting that needs to take place within her paradigm.

  The reality these men quickly come to is that the current strong wave of "church" isn't working and something has got to change.  In fact everything must change and go back all the way to the Apostles.

In the introduction they say: "So we have a vexing situation where probably 90% or more of evangelical churches in America (and other Western contexts) are aiming at becoming a model that not only is improbable for the vast majority but also (even if they could crack the codes) effectively would still just be competing with other churches for the same 40%" (On the Verge, p. 28).

  Things are broken, where churches are fighting for the same people, not reaching out to new, non-Christians, but are simply content with old Christians seeking a church "for them".  Hirsch and Ferguson are burdened for the lost, so they propose a new shift: an Apostolic shift.

They break this shift up into 4 categories: Imagine, Shift, Innovate and Move.

Imagine- Here the reader is challenged to imagine new ways of doing church, that are outside of the current paradigm.  Move beyond what is known in your mind and imagine something new.  "If You Can't Imagine It, You Can't Do It" (p. 39 in NOOK). We need to begin new movements of church that are new while still holding to the truth of the Gospel, otherwise the church is in serious trouble.

Shift- Here we see the need to make the shift in our thinking from just imagining it to making it start to form.  My favorite part of this section was there mDNA which is the DNA that needs to be attached to all the new shifts of paradigms.  It includes six things:  Jesus is Lord, Disciple-making, Missional-incarnational impulse, Apostolic environment, Organic Systems, and Communitas.  Again, I don't have time to get into what all this means (so you'll have to read it) but it is incredible the way these men flesh out this new reality.

Innovate- In order for these new things to happen, we have to innovate ways of implementing them. Designing the new church will need to be innovative and will take a ton of innovation.  Ferguson says int the book: "Innovate or Die".  We need to find out how to make this new imagined church come to life, or we will die.  Here, the spark of creativity is fanned into flames and you will find your heart dreaming and making new innovations as you read because these men just simply draw out the desire and the ideas with which I feel they honor God with.  A great equation that sums up this section is: Imagination x Implementation = Innovation.

Move- Now that we have the vision, the focus, the ways to get it done, we have to move.  We actually need to put up or shut up.  This chapter encourages the movementum of the church to take over and move into the future these new ideas of church.

  Again, as I said before, there is so much meat here that I am not even scratching the surface with what I brought here.  This is a quick, brief summary which doesn't do this book justice but I hope it inspired you to read this book because I think this book needs to be read and implemented.  This book encourages the freedom we need to rethink church and ministry, the modes and the methods, but certainly NOT the message. 

My imagination was sparked.  My heart burned to create, and so will yours.

Sticky Teams- Keeping Teams Together

  Zondervan has been offering tons of different titles to be reviewed and put up on a blog tour this summer.  I've tried to take advantage of them as often as I can and this book is one of the books that was to be reviewed.

   Having read Sticky Church by Larry Osborne, I was enticed by the opportunity to read Sticky Teams as well.  I loved Sticky Church and all of the great applications Larry brought to any church context, I assumed Sticky Teams would be the same and for the most part it was.

  Larry skillfully went through several things that rip up teams and cause disunity within the church.  He brings 20+ years of experience to the plate and is very vulnerable about his own failures when it comes to teams.

  Not being a senior pastor, this book was a bit more difficult for me to apply in my current context as one of five on a Youth Ministry staff but it was still worth the read because it gave me insight as to what really goes on in the upper echelon of the church political scheme.

  Several of Larry's insights were gleaned as the church he pastored grew, so this book is extremely helpful to anyone who finds themselves in an up and coming church.  This however does not negate anyone in a stagnant church or a declining church because the insights he brings can help teams see why in fact those negative trends are happening within their walls and Larry would argue that its most likely due to some type of disunity (or laziness on the pastors side).

  Many common landmines are discussed in this book (again many of them are more geared towards those in senior or executive ministry but are applicable to all staff) Which are very practical.  Below is a quick overview of those landmines.

 "Why Boards God Bad"- which discusses how meetings and setting can negatively effect how a board reacts and thinks. 

"Guarding the Gate"- which takes on the tough topic of hiring well and how to guard against getting a bad fit on the board and on the staff. 

"How Growth Changes Everything"- which is pretty self-explanatory but it takes an in depth look at what growth changes and how to go about moving with change rather than thinking the same old thing will work even when the world around you changes.

"Six Things Every Leadership Team Need to Know"-  This brings up 6 very seemingly inconsistent (with modern ideas anyways) things that every leadership team really does need to know.  This chapter was amazing and will be useful for any pastor in any situation!

"Clarifying the Pastor's Role"- This was far and away my favorite chapter of the entire book.  It hits the nail on the head as to who the pastor is and what he should be about.  I think it was my favorite chapter because it challenged me to think differently.  In the past I'm not too sure I've had the greatest examples of senior leadership (now is a different story) and so I myself was confused as to what the senior pastor should be about.  My favorite portion was on page 95 where Larry lists out 3 things pastors should do in order to keep themselves in check: 1. Present first drafts, not final proposals; 2. Keep no secrets from the board and 3. Follow the board's advice. Oddly enough, these three pieces of advice are often not heeded.

"Clarifying Board and Staff Roles"- This was another good chapter for me to see kind of where I fit as a staff member and what my role should be within my context.

"Making Room at the Top: Why Young Eagles Don't Stay"- I am a young eagle, so it was cool to see someone advocating for my generation.  It also showed me how in my own context, I need to be making room for student leaders to begin taking some responsibility when it comes to youth group and church.  I always have shrugged this idea off somewhat due to the age of the teens I work with...but it is key to have some students, no matter their age involved in some form of leadership.

  All of that amazing content is just the first section of the book!  There are two more sections: Equipped for Ministry: Getting Everyone on the Same Page; and Communication: Keeping Everyone on the Same Page. 

  All three sections are helpful, useful and insightful yet as you can see by what I highlighted, the first section is what hit me the strongest.  The last two sections were the more "Senior leadership" focused portions, that like I said gave me insight but not much useful help for the now (since I'm not in senior leadership).

  The book was a good read; I highly recommend it to Senior Leaders and board members alike because I feel that it will have a good impact on them and will enlighten some things that may have not been enlightened otherwise.

Insights on the Book of John

  I recently came across this as an option to read as part of the Zondervan Blog Tour.  I was exceedingly interested in this book, because I am in fact running through the book of John in my personal quiet times and thought that this would be a good addition to my time and I wasn't disappointed.

  Chuck Swindoll has been known as one of the best Christian authors in the past 30 years.  He's been writing, preaching and teaching for quite some time and has churned out tons of amazing insights from the Scripture that God first gave him and he in turn gave us.

  This commentary series I think will be great for the common person and pastor alike.  Inside these insights you receive personal journal entries from Chuck; application to the scriptures; verse by verse break downs, pictorial references, exceedingly helpful charts; transparent stories of Chuck on how he dealt personally with these specific scriptures and much more!

  As  a pastor, one of the hardest things to preach/teach to "the people" (in my case wiggly Middle Schoolers) is the application to their lives that the Scripture offer.  That in mind, my favorite portions of this entire book were the applications that Chuck placed after each small section of Scripture.  These applications were real, usable and on point, which makes this commentary series one of the easiest to read, understand and actively use!

  Here is a snippet of the application that Chuck places within this series (it comes right after Jesus washes the feet of the disciples and challenges them to wash each others feet:

"When Jesus laid aside His outer garment, handled Himself like a slave, and bowed low to wash His disciple's feet, He taught His men several important lessons about humility. not the least of which is that humility is an action, not simply an attitude.  One does not feel humble or think humble thoughts.  In fact, a person of genuine humility has no thought of self at all.  Humility is a behavior, and in its purest form, involves little emotion, except perhaps affection.
  With that in mind, allow me to draw a few principles from Jesus' lesson on humility.
   1. Humility is unannounced
   2. Humility is being willing to receive service without embarrassment
   3. Humility is not a sign of weakness
  4. Humility does not discriminate" (Swindoll, pg. 227)

  Of course there is more detail into each one of these principles that Chuck gives, but this is just a quick glimpse as to what these application portions look like.  Again, I find these sections the best out of the whole book and they make it extremely easy when putting a talk/sermon together for my Middle School students (as it would be for any age group I'd assume).

  The charts that this series offers are also very helpful, they help the reader get the "bigger picture" of a particular section or even of the book as a whole.  Finding specific themes and placing them together in an easy to read chart helps in a deeper understanding of what's going on.

  I was disappointed in one portion however (and only disappointed at this one portion): the pictures offered.  The pictures themselves throughout were very good, but they were all in black in white which caused me to have a more difficult time seeing the pictures.  In an HD world, going back to a black and white view of a picture frustrated me a bit.

  I don't agree with everything that Mr. Swindoll says in this commentary book, but that isn't unlike any other commentary series I've read, nor are my disagreements much of any consequence.

  I highly recommend this series for anyone, pastor or parishioner alike because I think it has great value when trying not only to understand the Bible better, but also for applying the Bible!

 

The Gathered AND Scattered Church

One of the things I've been interested in watching is the Church-Planting movement that has been going on for some time now.  I've been eating up their books, hungry to find the pulse of what they are about and excited to see the church moving towards the community.

  AND was available for a Zondervan book tour, so I put my name on the list and was lucky enough to snag me a copy!

  AND is a great book, written by practitioners of the church-planting movement.  It's funny as you read because the authors didn't seem to actually plant a church...they just desired to be people of the community and God built a church using those efforts!

  As Hugh and Matt intro the book, they give some heavy reasons as to why we as the church must change from only working on ourselves (the Gathered church) and start working on the people outside of the church and allowing our people to be people "out there" (the Scattered Church).  Once such quote smacked me hard in the face: "...I learned that the majority of funding for most mega-churches comes from the Boomer generation.  These folks grew up with a high value for stability, and they generally equate a large building with sustainability.  The bad news for these churches is that later generations don't necessarily share these values.  We may have only another ten years at this financial commitment and available resources." (pg. 21)

  That's a pretty serious problem and Hugh and Matt use this book as an attempt not only to wake us up to these realities, but also as a book to stimulate how we can do church differently, think of church differently and effect change in our communities more powerfully so these realities don't bite us so hard.  They also remind before we jump into the book as a whole that "The Scriptures are clear.  God is the one who builds the church." (p. 26)

  Chapter One is titled: The Beautifully Sent Church which describes how the church was not meant to be a stand-alone item where Christians come and are fed, yet watch the communities around them decay without the knowledge of Jesus.  I could quote them time and time again because what they have to say about this idea of the church "being sent" is rooted in the Scriptures and is a passion of their lives.  These two guys have been called to "give their lives away" (p. 47) and challenge to reader to see that the same call (if they claim Jesus as Lord) is upon their lives as well. We are called to die to ourselves...which includes our Western selfish idea that it is about us (even church...it isn't all about us!)  Needless to say, I blazed through this chapter, excited, challenged, convicted and highlighting like a kid with: a wall and a paintbrush!

  Chapter Two is titled: Starting the AND...Wherever You Are.  This was a chapter in a church planting book I've only dreamed of!  Usually as you read church planting books, they talk about how to start these things from scratch, but have no real practical ideas for pastors in an already built church.  They say: "Any church of any size can be both missional and nonmissional at the same time." (p. 52)  Hugh and Matt work hard to provide the "how" for both planters and pastors in established churches.  The model for planters is: Engage Culture---> Forming Community--->Structuring Congregation  and the model for the established pastor is:  Structuring Congregation--->Forming Community--->Engage Culture
  Matt and Hugh do a great job of breaking both down to let the reader see and make this missional/incarnational type of ministry to the community work.  Here's the kicker they threw in the mix, which should make all church leaders pay attention: "All leaders must intentionally provide a structure that will continue to both gather AND scatter God's people for mission." (p. 65)

  Chapter Three is titled: Consumerless Church: Every Church's Dream, Every Church's Nightmare.  I will simply summarize this chapter with a quote from the authors: " The pain of providing what people want instead of what they need will eventually either kill you or cause you to ask, 'Why am I doing this anyway?  I this worth the agony?  What was the Main Thing I'm trying to do again?'...A consumer is not a disciple and a disciple is not a consumer!" (p. 75)  Basically, we need to as church leaders create an environment that is not consumer driven, where the people don't feel they are "shopping" for something.  We create an environment where they always get what they need, but not always get what they want.

  Chapter Four is titled: Spiritual Formation for Missional Churches.  I have to be honest and say that this was the only chapter that disappointed me.  It didn't disappoint me because it was "wrong" nor because it didn't have good things to say, because it surely did.  I was disappointed because most of what was talked about in the realm of spiritual formation was working on outside things.  A person can be more focused on others without changing their heart.  They do say: "We're here as a church leadership to help you find your heart again." (p. 112)  I believe this is true, but working on the externals may spark a new desire for God on a deeper level, but in my experience with spiritual formation, heart questions need to be asked.  Not "are you going to the streets and being friends with the community" but: "What about where you are with God causes you not to go be friends with people in the community".  I know it may sound like an antithesis to what they were saying (and I agreed with 100%) about it not being about YOU, but there needs to be a heart check as to why they are not engaging in these things.  The Spirit was inside Jesus and Jesus did these things naturally.  The same Spirit lives in us, so where in our lives are we quenching His missional desires within us?  Those seem like better questions to ask.

  I could go through the rest of the book and describe all that is in it...because it really is a GREAT book that calls the reader out and forces them to desire to become part of a missional community.  The authors say: "The idea of the AND is that every church can find a balance of both scattering people out for mission while maintaining a biblically meaningful reason to gather together." (p. 124) and that's what this whole book is about.  The rest of the chapters; 5- The Big AND; 6- Morph; 7- To Gather or Not to Gather: Is That the Question? And 8- Legacy: Live as if You're Really Dying are all based around this one phrase.  Chapter 5 gives pictures and a deeper understanding for the whole picture, 6 helps the change, 7 breaks off some myths and 8 encourages the reader to leave a lasting legacy.

  If you are a pastor (even a Youth Pastor like me) this book should be on your reading list.  It is a strong call to missional living and a GREAT view on how to get it done.  Churches, youth groups, and missional communities alike can gain wisdom, understanding and application from this book.

Etnic Blends- Multi Ethnic Coffee!

Everyone who drinks coffee knows that the flavor is in the blend you use.  Some choose this brand, others choose that brand because of the flavor.  At my church, we have the Seattle's Best Blend and the cheap blend and the difference is quite staggering.

 This book is about bringing together people of different ethnicities and building a church.  It's about building a community here on earth that will reflect the community in heaven: "And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God." (Luke 13:29 ESV)

This book is also about what struggles and battles will be faced when there is an attempt to make a church look like heaven.  It's counter-cultural in most church circles. 

  The authors are passionate about dis-engaging the homogenous mode of thinking and embracing the multi-ethnic blend of coffee that God himself drinks!

  I really learned a ton from this book.  I picked this book out because I am a part of a Multi-Ethnic church and am a pastor to Middle School student within that paradigm and I wanted to learn more about how to minister to them.  Even though I came from a blended church, I still felt I needed more education on how to deal with it and after reading this book, I know I was right (and still have TONS to learn).

  This book is filled with story after story that shows the authentic, honest, rewarding and hard calling of being a multi-ethnic community.  I was particularly touched by a story where two brothers of a different ethnicity got into a fight.  Instead of storming away and leaving the church these two men of God desired to work it out and although it was hard they worked it out to the glory of God!

  After they worked it out, one of the brothers was on the schedule to preach and he felt the Holy Spirit leading him to wash the other brothers feet.  It was hard and he did it with the leading of the Holy Spirit and God did a work in the congregation that day! (this story is found on pages 175-178)

  There are more and more stories laced throughout the book that point to God doing a mighty work in and through the Multi-Ethnic blend of community. 

As I said before, I gleaned a ton from this book, but I think the thing that I will attach to my life right away comes from Chapter 6- Roasting for Flavor and is an outline of 1 Corinthians 9:19-23.  The authors have 3 bits of instruction to help overcome the Cross-Cultural Obstacles that pop up from these verses.

1. You Must Surrender Your Rights (1 Corinthians 9:19)
     Our ideas about church and life are not always right.  If it isn't a Biblical mandate, it's subject to change!  We can't be stuck in "our way" when we desire to be multi-ethnic, because with that much difference in culture, there will be that much difference in opinion!  We (I) must be flexible!

2. You Must Extend Yourself to Others
        To Those Most Like You (1 Corinthians 9:20)
        It's OK to care about your own Ethnic group, but not to the exclusion of the rest of God's body

        To Those Least Like You (1 Corinthians 9:21-22)
        We must care for the WHOLE body of Christ and offer ourselves up to others of different ethnicities.

3. You Must Not Be Dogmatic (1Corinthians 9:22)
  Don't be rigid in how you do things!  Again, if it's not going against the Bible, it's subject to change!

  These three things I know I will attach to my life and live out before my Middle Schoolers and I will encourage them to do so as well.  I love what these authors are doing and talking about.  It is great to see such passion and fervor for the Multi-ethnic church.  I hope to continue to instill these truths into my teens to make our church even more diverse than it ever was!

  Lastly, the authors caution anyone from undertaking this ideology without first knowing it will put a target on your back.  They end the book with some of the Spiritual toils they've dealt with once they've decided to go multi-ethnic.  When we are doing God's work, God's way we can expect (as the authors remind us) a huge reaction from Satan.  May we, as we all endevor to do this great work God has called us to commit ourselves to the Lord's care and remain close to Him!

A Multi-Site Road Trip!

After reading The Multi-Site Revolution (by the same authors) I was inspired to think outside of the box and wonder what it would be like to see my church go multi-site. In fact I wished it would happen! I didn't know what to expect with this next book in the series. I thought the book may be very similar, but I was dead wrong!




In A Multi-Site Road Trip Surratt, Ligon and Bird take the reader into the midst of their trips and make you feel just as a part of the experience as they do. I was so engaged with this book that I didn't put it down (unless of course I had to go to work).



Going from multi-site to multi-site was a great experience and I was able to see firsthand exactly what's going on in this realm of churchdom. The multi-site pastors were candid, honest and shared their failures as well as their successes. They were more than willing to share what worked for them and what doesn't, which helps a guy like me who is deeply interested in this movement because it helped me to dream big for my own situation.



Not only was this book honest, candid and informative, it was also quite humorous and fun. The authors would share little side treks to different restaurants in the towns they visited and would tell funny stories as they happened on the trip. I am a fan of people who don't take themselves too seriously and are willing to share silly stories about themselves. This piece added an element of welcome, by that I mean you felt like they were sharing with you, their friend what was going on. They didn't outright attempt to "teach" you anything but simply gave you the details of their trips, their experience and their overall thoughts on what it all meant.



Learning from the multi-site pastors is a great plus. They are not simply Theorists...they are Practitioners and have much to add to the realm of multi-site. Inside the book, some of these pastors handed over some great resources like: "What makes a great Campus Pastor"; "Organizational Charts" and much more! These tools are vital to anyone thinking multi-site and now they no longer have to work from scratch but can have a visible picture of one churches hard work!



Lastly, having one of the authors who is a pastor on staff in a multi-site church was a HUGE bonus. Geoff Surratt was open and candid about what he experienced, his feelings as the multi-site was in the beginning stages and where they are now as a church. This "insider" information was priceless as when he wrote, he wrote from the lens of someone who'd really been there.

If you are a church leader in a church that is pondering multi-site, you should have this book.  If you are a congregant wondering why in the world your church leadership is thinking about going multi-site, this book will help open your eyes as to the big "why".  It's not because it's the "hip" thing to do, it's because it has a proven track record and God is using it to expand His Kingdom!


I received this book free from Zondervan Publishers as part of their Blog Tour book review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”