I just finished reading, "27 Tough Questions Pastors Ask." It is by Dick Hardy, who started The Hardy Group, a church and leadership consulting group.
Many of the things are items that I have know for years and tried to implement. It was really good to get a reminder that those items are important. These items would be great for any church board to read as well. It is a great book for helping a church leadership team all be on the same page. Here are the two most important items that I picked out that seem to come up in several chapters.
First, prayer is absolutely important. Dick is not talking about a little prayer, but creating a "culture of prayer" in every part of the church. It was really challenging to me to read a church growth book that actually emphasized prayer! That is a miserably missing component of many church growth books today. This needs to improve in the church I pastor.
Second, growth is not about all the things that the Pastor and leadership must implement, but about removing obstacles to growth. It really makes sense. I am weary with mail and advertisements about all the things I need to add to my church to make it grow. First, pray, second, preach the word. That is the recipe for building the kingdom, not just a church. But, too often we place barriers in the way of the seeker and the person far from God so that they can not get through our man made obstacles. This came up several times and really makes me think differently about growth for a church. It is not what we add; it is what we need to remove in many cases.
This would be a great book for Pastors to share with their board.
2 comments:
I liked, "be the leader", and "teach change". Those are definitely key aspects as well.
Yes. All church leaders whether paid or lay need to get ahold of at least key parts of this book.
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