Nine Marks of a Healthy Church

Nine Marks of a Healthy Church
Average customer rating:

Doctrinally Sound; Biblically Pragmatic

The Church Reformed always being Reformed according to the word of God

Dump Church Growth for Church Health!!!

Good theological type reference book

Church Health

Nine Marks of a Healthy Church
Mark Dever
Manufacturer: Crossway Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 158134631X

Book Description

What makes for a healthy church? A large congregation? Plentiful parking? Vibrant music?

You may have read books on this topic beforeâbut not like this one. This new expanded edition of Nine Marks of a Healthy Church is not an instruction manual for church growth. It is a pastor’s recommendation of how to assess the health of your church using nine crucial qualities that are neglected by many of today’s churches.

Whether you’re a church leader or an involved member of your congregation, you can help cultivate these elements in your church, bringing it new life and health for God’s glory.

âIf you are a Christian leader, be careful of the work you are now holding in your hand: it may change your life and ministry.â
âD. A. Carson, Research Professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

âThis is a foundational work which I highly recommend.â
âJohn MacArthur, Pastor-Teacher

âI want God’s word about the church. I turn with hope and confidence to Mark Dever’s radically biblical commitment. Few people today have thought more or better about what makes a church biblical and healthy.â
âJohn Piper, Pastor for Preaching and Vision, Bethlehem Baptist Church

âThis is the best book I have read on this topic of critical importance.â
âC. J. Mahaney, Sovereign Grace Ministries

âNine Marks of a Healthy Church is required reading for my students in ecclesiology.â
âPaige Patterson, President, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

â[This book] belongs in the hands of every faithful pastor and all those who pray for reformation in this age.â
âR. Albert Mohler, Jr., President, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

âNine Marks of a Healthy Church is a biblical prescription for faithfulness.â
âJ. Ligon Duncan III, Senior Minister, First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, MS

Customer Reviews:

Doctrinally Sound; Biblically Pragmatic.......2007-07-19

Mark Dever has done what so many others have failed to do: combine the delight of doctrine and biblical interpretation and join it with wise, pragmatic advice on what the church is, is to be and how it should function in order to be healthy. If another pastor or elder from another church asked me to recommend a book that would help their church, this would be one of the first I'd mention. While not exhaustive in content, Nine Marks is more than sufficient. The chapters I took greatest encouragement in where the first two: Biblical Exposition (something I believe in and seek to practice) and Biblical Theology (a concise summation of who God is and how this should impact the church). Perhaps the two most challenging chapters were: Understanding Biblical Church Membership and Biblical Church Discipline. I truly agree with the idea of a congregational covenant; it would be difficult to "pull off" in the Evangelical Free Church (we're just too fiercely independent). The matter of church discipline is one we neglect to our great detriment. Most often, we'd rather re-act to a bad situation than be proactive in spurring our congregants on to growth in Christ through positive forms of discipline. Much work to be done here; but thanks to Dever's work, the challenge and the "how to's" are there.

Read this book, especially if you're a pastor. If you're a pastor of a small church, read this book with your leaders and see what the Lord will do through you. If you're a pastor of a large church, read this book and see if there are biblical corrections you need to make, even if it means hosting a "membership drive" (see the chapter on membership and you'll get the attempt at humor here). Read this book with the Scriptures open next to you and I know you'll be blessed.

The Church Reformed always being Reformed according to the word of God.......2007-07-16

Nine Marks of a Healthy Church by Mark Dever is not a book about competence of operation or to have an entertaining church. Pages 35 through 39 talk about friendliness, entertaining music, starting church on time, a clear program, activities for the children, parking, the appearance of the sanctuary, comfortable seating, first impressions visitors get of the church, and the impression of the community. The author does not deny the importance of the church being retrospective about the nuts and bolts of the church, but argues over emphasis on these things and the idea that population of the pews can be unhealthy to the local body. Many have argued this book is a critique against the seeker sensitive mentality of today's church. This gives the reader a too narrow perspective: This book demands that a church give a comprehensive education to those who attend, biblical obedience to those who belong, and sanction against those who belong but do not participate within the church or are disobedient to the word of God. To teach the body in a competent manner and train its members in the Christian walk. The author does not give a number but my impression is that 90 percent of the churches in the United States would fail the physical. This book could be helpful for one who wonders which local church to join or what one should pursue in a Christian body.

The first mark is about expositional preaching. The pulpit is the major tool for church education and sets the tone for the other tools the church uses to educate her members. The whole church should go through the Bible verse by verse in consecutive order. Topical preaching should be used in a limited sense, because the pastor will avoid the harder tropics. The author uses the phrase "Ecclesia Reformata Semper Reformanda Secundum Verbum Dei. A reformation phrase meaning: Church Reformed Always being Reformed according to the Word of God. Mark Dever argues the church, as a whole should be refreshed by the word of God, continue to hear the word of God, to be refashioned and reshaped by the word of God. The preached word is the great imperative for the Pastor, not moral exhortations.

The second Mark is Biblical theology, the Author uses this term to argue the church must give witness to who God actually is and not what some want Him to be: An argument against preaching the common sentiment who God is, but who is the God presented in the Bible. How are the acts of God recorded in the Old Testament? Mark Dever compares the sacrificial system recorded in the Old Testament to the perfect atonement sacrifice recorded in the New Testament. The Author further argues for what this means about ones own sinfulness and that for man generally.

This leads the reader to Mark three. Consider mark two something people do not want to hear but must be convinced to consider the Gospel in its true light as the Good News. " The Bible utterly rejects the idea that we are okay, that the human condition is just fine, that everyone is really in need of accepting their current condition... that we simply need to look at the bright side of things." (Pg. 80) God is love, but love is defined by who God is. God is holy, sovereign, immutable, all knowing, and all-powerful. Jesus is our friend if one accepts Him as Lord and Savior. The relationship between God and man depends on what one does with Jesus in the context does one accept himself as sinner and the means God has provided to reconcile oneself to Jesus. The author goes into detail why Jesus must suffer and die, so man any man could reconcile himself to the Father. That is if one repents and accepts Jesus as Savior.

Tell people honestly that if they repent and believe they will be saved- but it will be costly. Mark 4 is about the nature of conversion and turning away from their old way of going against God's will. Mark five is about evangelism as a practice by those who are members of the church. To tell people the Gospel that one is in rebellion against God, one needs to repent, and is in need to accept Jesus as Savior. It is not about taking the unsaved to a church service. Evangelism is not apologetics. Evangelism is not personal testimony. High growth rate may not mean good biblical evangelism. Evangelism is about sharing the Gospel; it should be acted upon based on obedience to God, love for the lost and a love for God.

Mark Dever makes clear there are consequences to those who do accept Jesus as Savior and there are consequences to those who accept Jesus as Savior. Becoming a Christian is an intellectual assent that one is a sinner and there is need to change behavior. The implication is one cannot view, do certain things, and have a correct walk with God. Mark four is about responsibility of the members of the church. Healthy churches have membership and those who belong actually attend worship services regularly and are obedient to God. "If we really want to see our churches grow, we need to make it harder to join and to be better about excluding people." This includes excluding members who do not attend services- excommunication. Mark six is about Church membership and mark seven is about discipline in the church.

The author goes into detail about a Christian never discipled properly. To not have a regular prayer life or scripture study. To believe a Christian life is a moral life instead of living for a sovereign God. Concern more for one's safety and children then building up the body of Christ. Proper discipleship is mark eight. Mark nine is good leadership in the church and the members of the body to obey the anointed leadership in the church- even though they are sinners.

Dump Church Growth for Church Health!!!.......2007-06-17

Dr. Mark Dever's 9 Marks of a Healthy Church is must reading for 21st century pastors and lay leaders. It is an excellent book (however, I still think the best book on the church is Dr. John MacArthur's The Master's Plan for the Church), which I read in less than 72 hours--not normal for me at all.

9 Marks gives its readers "a plan for recovering biblical preaching and church leadership at a time when too many congregations are languishing in a merely notional and nominal Christianity" because the "purpose of too many churches has fallen from one of glorifying God simply to growing larger, assuming that that goal, however achieved, must glorify God" (25). Because of this, Dr. Dever's goal is "to call attention to some important aspects of church life that have been overlooked or even forgotten in modern American Christian life" (148).

So, for churches who have glorifying God as their highest goal and health as their desired description, what are the 9 Marks Dr. Dever prescribes:

1. Expositional Preaching
2. Biblical Theology
3. The Gospel
4. A Biblical Understanding of Conversion
5. A Biblical Understanding of Evangelism
6. A Biblical Understanding of Church Membership
7. Biblical Church Discipline
8. A Concern for Discipleship and Growth
9. Biblical Church Leadership

While reading the first five chapters, the one thought that kept coming to my mind was "Thank God for the seminary I went to (The Master's Seminary) because from day 1 and for all 4 years, these values were firmly and effectively hammered into our brains so that the first 5 chapters ended up being a very good review.

For instance, I could not agree more with Dr. Dever that "the main role of any pastor, is expositional preaching" (39), which is preaching that "takes for the point of the sermon the point of a particular passage of Scripture" (40) and that if "you are looking for a good church, this is the most important thing to consider" (52). Oh that Christians would get this!

In his chapter on the gospel he has this great quote from J.C. Ryle which summarizes one of the worst problems in the American church: "There is a common worldly kind of Christianity in this day, which many have, and think they have enough--a cheap Christianity which offends nobody, and requires no sacrifice--which costs nothing, and is worth nothing" (92). If your church produces this, run away fast.

I could not agree more with this assessment from his chapter on evangelism:
"We need to see an end to a wrong, shallow view of evangelism as simply getting people to say yes to a question, or to make a one-time decision. We need to seen an end to the bad fruit of false evangelism. We need to see an end to worldly people having assurance that they're saved just because they once took a stand, shook a hand, or repeated a prayer. ... We need to see the end of this debilitating, deadly coldness to the glorious call to tell the Good News. And we need to see a renewed commitment to, and joy in, the great privilege we have of sharing the Good News of Christ with the lost and dying world around us" (143-4).

The chapters I liked most were 6, 7 and 8 on church membership, church discipline and a healthy church's concern for discipleship and growth.

He convinced me in ch. 6 that church membership is biblical and therefore, absolutely essential for having and maintaining a healthy church. It should have a high commitment, and should be taught on and encouraged regularly. Membership is the environment where edification is supposed take place, which means it is a travesty that we can find so many "Christian books that talk about growing as a Christian but completely ignore the role of the church" (157).

Chapter 7 is an excellent and truly convincing explanation of and defense for church discipline. It should be done for the glory of God in obedience to Jesus in Matthew 18:15-17 with the attitudes of "humility and love, and want[ing] to see good come" (187) for the promotion of holiness, the health and witness of the church and the ultimate good of the person disciplined.

Finally, I will sum up Dr. Dever's excellent chapter on discipleship with "a healthy church is characterized by a serious concern for spiritual growth on the part of its members" because in "a healthy church, people want to get better a following Christ" (198). If you do not go to a church where this is a major goal of the people involved, find another one as fast as you can.

In the midst of all the chapters, the greatest strengths of this book come from Dr. Dever's insightful descriptions of modern American church life and his devastating critiques, which are made with equally insightful expositions and applications of Scripture. He does this over and over again throughout the book and it is masterful!

In the end, you cannot go wrong in reading this book (I do tend to disagree with his congregational form of church government thinking what Strauch presents in Biblical Eldership is more biblical), and I am convinced that if pastors dumped the unbiblical and irrelevant church growth and emergent movements and joined the Church Health Movement (as outlined in this book) that they would be far better off on their day of judgment (James 3:1; Hebrews 13:7).

Good theological type reference book .......2007-05-13

This book is a good reference with lots of important information; however, it is written in theological terms and sometimes hard to follow.

Church Health.......2007-02-25

Pastor Mark Dever writes from Scripture and from pastoral experience. He writes to pastors, elders, and all committed Christians reminding readers that church health must precede church growth.

"Nine Marks of a Healthy Church" is counter-cultural. That is, it moves counter to the Christian culture of the day that promotes a watered-down version of Christianity and Church life.

Dever combines the rare ability to write prophetically (challenging current Christian culture) while still writing enticingly (encouraging change rather than promoting division and antagonism). He also combines the greatest of skills: relating biblical truth to daily life and relationships.

Reviewer: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of Soul Physicians, Spiritual Friends, Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction, "Biblical Psychology," and "Martin Luther's Pastoral Counseling."

Designing Conflict Management Systems: A Guide to Creating Productive and Healthy Organizations (Jossey-Bass Conflict Resolution Series)

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Designing Conflict Management Systes, Costantino & Merchant
Desinging Conflict Systems
An invaluable resource for OD, HR and conflict mgt pros.

Designing Conflict Management Systems: A Guide to Creating Productive and Healthy Organizations (Jossey-Bass Conflict Resolution Series)
Cathy A. Costantino , and Christina Sickles Merchant
Manufacturer: Jossey-Bass
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0787901628

Book Description

Expert advice on building better conflict management programs

Conflict in the workplace is always an eventuality. But it needn't be so costly or counter-productive. This book presents a clear, step-by-step approach for developing conflict management systems within any organization that anticipate the inevitability of conflict and deal with it in a effecient, cost-effective way. The authors, both promiment experts in the field, present a structured process for assessing conflict management programs in order to improve them or to implement new ones. As such, this book serves as an excellent resource for organization development and human resource professionals and consultants interested in proactively tackling the business concerns that conflict brings.

Customer Reviews:

Designing Conflict Management Systes, Costantino & Merchant.......2007-10-07

This was a comprehensive, practical-theoretical look at designing dispute resolution systems in business and governmental organisations.

I found it a practical as well as informative book, which will continue to be a handy reference for those doing dispute systems design.

The authors take Ury, Brett & Goldberg's earlier book: Getting Disputes Resolved: Designing Systems to Cut the Cost of Conflict, Jossey-Bass, CA, 1988, into the new areas of application, addressing new issues which adds informative review and new techniques to that original text in DSD.

Costantino and Merchant include sections on:
The Designer as Role Model, Traps and Pitfalls for Designers,and
Organizational Assessment - looking at the big picture in a thorough manner before offering any suggestions.

The book is arranged in 3 sections: Coping with Conflict in Organizations,
Designing and Improving Conflict Management Systems, and Making the System Work. I particularly liked their metaphors, such as "the dark side of Dispute Systems Design", and "Resistance and constraints: having tea with your demons". Indeed a refreshing and welcome addition in the field.

Desinging Conflict Systems.......2003-02-14

This book offers a great deal of theory and not enough real world applicability. Some of the reading is difficult to digest.

An invaluable resource for OD, HR and conflict mgt pros........1996-08-02

This book contributes mightily to defining how the emerging field of conflict management differs from organizational development, and what they share in common. For this alone it is worth the cover price. But the authors don't stop there. The book is full of practical strategies for developing conflict management systems. And its techniques reflect real world experience, not just theory! But, as a practitioner in this field, I can't say enough thanks to Constantino and Merchant for deepening the exploration of this very important new field!

School Climate: Measuring, Improving and Sustaining Healthy Learning Environments

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School Climate: Measuring, Improving and Sustaining Healthy Learning Environments
H. Jer Freiberg
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Like a strong foundation in a house, the climate of a school is the foundation that supports the structures of teaching and learning. This book provides a framework for educators to look at school and classroom climates using both informal and formal measures. Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of climate and details techniques which may be used by heads or classroom teachers to judge the health of their learning environment. The book sets out to enhance understanding of the components of a healthy learning environment and the tools needed to improve that environment. It also looks at way to assess the impact of change activities in improving and sustaining educational excellence. The international team of contributors brings perspectives from the school systems in America, UK, Australia and Holland.

Healthy Congregations: A Systems Approach

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Healthy Congregations: A Systems Approach - Review
Must read for church leaders
A Poor Approach
Healthy Congregations: A Systems Approach
Good book

Healthy Congregations: A Systems Approach
Peter L. Steinke
Manufacturer: Alban Institute
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Book Description

In this sequel to How Your Church Family Works, Steinke takes readers into a deeper exploration of the congregation as an emotional system. Learn ten principles of health, how congregations can adopt new ways of dealing with stress and anxiety, how spiritually and emotionally healthy leaders influence the emotional system, factors that could put your congregation at risk, and more.

Customer Reviews:

Healthy Congregations: A Systems Approach - Review.......2007-08-03

This is an excellent book for churches in all stages of growth that want to build upon the energy and Spirit that is their congregation and community. It presents a comprehensive picture and offers practical suggestions for what can go wrong and what can go right with church leadership - boards and ministers, congregations, and communities. As an added bonus, it is delivered in a concise and easy to read format.

Must read for church leaders.......2007-03-25

You know a book connects when you think the author is speaking about your experiences. Steinke helped explain some of the struggles I had dealt with throughout my ministry. True of all systems thinking, it is not about shame and blame, rather thinking and acting in more productive ways. I wish I had this book to read before I started in ministry. If every pastor and church board would reflect on this book, and taking it to heart, it would help them to work better instead of harder. It is an excellent book for those who have never viewed congregations from a systems perspective.

A Poor Approach.......2007-02-08

This book has a flawed approach, I assume from Steinke's credentials that he knows something about congregational conflict, but almost all his evidence for why and how things function come from the analogous relationship between a congregation and a humand body. Now the bible does make that analogy, but too think that the apostle Paul was thinking about viruses and cells and such when he was making that analogy is silly. There are some good things in this book, but nothing worth spending an hour or two to read this book. And people who are of a more Evangelical persuation will be annoyed with some aspects of this book.

Healthy Congregations: A Systems Approach.......2007-01-18

Peter Srteinke writes as well as he presents himself in person. I have enjoyed his seminar and found it to be most profitable. A great book for resolving congregational conflict and tragedy.

Good book.......2006-12-22

Anyone who is ministry needs to have Peter Steinke's books for reference and this one of them. It's a shame that systems is not mandatory in divinity school.

Handbook of School-Based Interventions: Resolving Student Problems and Promoting Healthy Educational Environments (Jossey-Bass Social & Behavioral Science)

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Handbook of School-Based Interventions: Resolving Student Problems and Promoting Healthy Educational Environments (Jossey-Bass Social & Behavioral Science)
Jeffrey A. Cohen , and Marian C. Fish
Manufacturer: Jossey-Bass
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This comprehensive guide describes practical interventions for virtually every major behavioral problem that students may exhibit from kindergarten to grade 12. It focuses on promoting a healthy and social school environment in which all children can learn and grow.

Book Description

ACSM's Worksite Health Promotion Manual is the most practical resource of its kind, giving students and professionals alike the most useful information available to start, run, and evaluate worksite programs.

Editor Carolyn Cox, PhD, CHES, expertly compiles dozens of proven and implemented ideas and examples from 30 of the top practitioners, researchers, and leaders in the field, making the manual a day-to-day resource for working health promotion practitioners. The hands-on text stresses the importance of making worksite health promotion relevant to today's top business leaders in order to ensure its long-term success.

Worksite health promotion traditionally has taken a back seat to business and medicine, in part because of consumer attitudes: People don't want to do what they should. For the minority who do, the benefits take time, sometimes years, to achieve. ACSM's Worksite Health Promotion Manual predicts that the profession will only grow and flourish if practitioners successfully relate their work to business objectives and medical outcomes, to consumers and corporations, and to everyday performance as well as long-term health.

The five-part text features easy-to-read sections that allow readers to find specific information quickly. Other features include the following:
· Lists of resources that professionals can use to maximize program efficiency and cost effectiveness
· Examples of best practices from the profession
· Icons that highlight important principles in each section
· A comprehensive appendix that contains 15 forms designed to guide businesses through various aspects of worksite health promotion
· Popular Web sites for health promotion

Part I, "Building a Strong Foundation," advocates that all interventions and planning be based on proven theory, encouraging practitioners to foster more partnerships to be successful.

Part II, "Operation Processes That Work," reviews the four cornerstones of an effective health promotion program and their interdependency: needs assessment and evaluation, health culture development, effective interventions, and relapse prevention.

Part III, "Development Strategies for Mature Programs," offers current resources to help practitioners revitalize and continue to develop existing programs.

Part IV, "Reengineering for Mature Programs," challenges programs to find and use a variety of tools and processes to break away from the status quo, ultimately improving the creative and innovative process.

Part V, "The Twenty-First Century Challenge," presents viewpoints of other movements that are influencing health promotion.

ACSM's Worksite Health Promotion Manual is an ideal reference for professionals who are setting up, running, and evaluating on-the-job programs. It's the most practical, hands-on tool available for worksite health promotion practitioners, complete with real-world case studies and objectives to help with healthy worksite promotion.

The Healthy Church
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Knowing the cause for dysfunction

The Healthy Church
C. Peter Wagner
Manufacturer: Regal Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Customer Reviews:

Knowing the cause for dysfunction.......2000-01-12

C. Peter Wagner has written a thought provoking book which should be helpful to all churches. Wagner identifies problems (diseases) which hamper church growth and will cause the death of churches. Those pastors and church leaders who are experiencing growth problems will readily see potential problems in their local congregations. I felt that this book was well done and useful for myself as a young pastor. My only complaint and wish would be for more information on the steps to combat these 'diseases.' I did find particularly interesting, particularly since I am part of a Holiness church, the problems Wagner says Holiness churches encounter due to the "santification gap." This discussion could have been more substantial as well. However, to his credit as I have noticed with other Wagner works, he makes references which are helpful for the various topics discussed. I wish to give this work 4 & 1/2 stars!

Designing Worship Together: Models And Strategies For Worship Planning (Vital Worship, Healthy Congregations)

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Excellent guide for the challenging task of collaborative worship planning

Designing Worship Together: Models And Strategies For Worship Planning (Vital Worship, Healthy Congregations)
Norma Dewaal Malefyt , and Howard Vanderwell
Manufacturer: Alban Institute
ProductGroup: Book
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ASIN: 1566992966
Release Date: 2004-12-30

Book Description

Much more than a "how-to" for worship planners. Drawing on more than two decades of collaborative worship planning, as well as numerous conversations with other worship planners. Pastor Howard Vanderwell and musician Norma de Waal Malefyt lay out a thoughtful, field-tested process for planning, implementing, and evaluating life-enriching weekly worship. Well over a dozen field-tested tools and a selected bibliography round out this invaluable resource for worship planners.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent guide for the challenging task of collaborative worship planning.......2006-12-02

This excellent resource is focused on the "why" and "how" of collaborative worship planning. The editor of the "Vital Worship, Healthy Congregations" series, John Witvliet, captures succinctly the driving themes behind the book in his Foreword (p. viii):

Congregations, and the leaders that serve them, need a shared vision for worship that is grounded in more than personal aesthetic tastes. This vision must draw on the deep theological resources of Scripture, the Christian tradition, and the unique history of the congregation.

Congregational worship should be integrated with the whole life of the congregation. It can serve as the "source and summit" from which all the practices of the Christian life flow. Worship both reflects and shapes the life of the church in education, pastoral care, community service, fellowship, justice, hospitality, and every other aspect of church life.

The best worship practices feature not only good worship "content," such as discerning sermons, honest prayers, creative artistic contributions, celebrative meaningful rituals for baptism and the Lord's Supper. The also arise out of good process, involving meaningful contributions from participants, thoughtful leadership, honest evaluation, and healthy communication among leaders.

Designing Worship Together makes a strong case for broadening the participation in collaborative worship planning as a mechanism for achieving these objectives, and explores process and organizational structures appropriate for enabling an aggressively collaborative planning, evaluation, preparation and reflection approach for Christian churches.

The authors dedicate the first chapter of the book towards motivating (and understanding the challenges) of the "together" theme in the book. While many might guess at some of the obvious advantages of spreading the worship planning load--greater variety, sensitivity to the needs of a larger community, sharing the burden, etc...--the case is made very strongly, and the authors introduce some benefits the reader might not have considered. For instance, the intangible value of "ownership" or "investment" in the worship service stimulated by the involvement of others in the process may be unexpected. When worship is planned regularly by a small, paid staff, it can become simply a job--a burden--and it might not be immediately obvious that training and involving others can elevate the experience of all beyond that of a weekly task to an ongoing, joyful investment.

Clearly, there are some challenges associated with collaboratively planning worship. The authors outline these challenges capably, and it may be the case for some local churches that, upon understanding and reflecting on these challenges, collaborative planning may be counterproductive. The authors include one very real, practical challenge which deserves attention: the availability of time.

Time is a primary challenge in our society. In a manner never before seen, our time is considered a precious resource, almost every 21st-century Westerner considers their self "time-poor." As Christians, we should reject this illusion as profoundly counter-scriptural. That we are terminally busy individuals is certainly a reality and a challenge when faced with tasks like worship planning. But the work of the church is a primary place where Christians ought to reject the gospel of busyness, reflect on a Christlike posture and response, and capture these counter-cultural truths in the context of the worship event and the planning surrounding it.

Additionally, Designing Worship Together addresses the importance of having qualified participants in the planning process. These qualifications of heart, mind, and spirit are plainly crucial to a successful planning process. But, more than this, the work of training and preparation for worship planners is bound to spill out to the wider congregation, and the benefits of ongoing formation of worship planners is sure to increase the congregations' general ability to prepare for, participate in, and appreciate excellence in the worship event.

The remainder of the book is dedicated to guidance on organizing people, time, and processes in a variety of ways to enable the collaborative planning process. The greatest flexibility is afforded by the authors to the organization of people in the process, given the breadth of church sizes, traditions, resources available, and maturity of the congregation. Several examples are given for how different congregations have organized the planning effort, but the common pattern of some oversight committee (such as the church board or worship committee) and a smaller, more focused weekly planning team is assumed. The authors describe productive allocations of responsibility between these groups and the types of communication which must occur.

Once the organization of the people involved in planning and evaluation is understood, the authors strongly encourage the creation of what the call a "Congregational Worship Statement," a document expressing the local understanding of what worship is, what the congregation wants to accomplish in worship, and broad principles describing how the particularities of these goals combine with denominational and regional tradition, doctrine, and other emphases to inform specific decisions about designing corporate worship.

One of the most challenging and useful disciplines required by collaborative worship planning, and captured in excellent detail in this book is the creation and maintenance of a service planning calendar. Maintaining such a calendar has the potential to produce a huge variety of healthy spin-offs within the weekly worship services and beyond. Working together to populate the calendar in advance can facilitate the work of the Holy Spirit over time by providing a framework for reflection and communication about the themes and content of each service well in advance. It enables accountability mechanisms across the planning team. It produces a written record of what has been done. Perhaps most significantly for the congregation, the development of the planning calendar makes it possible for worshipers to prepare for the coming services and reflect on services in the past.

An emerging theme in the Vital Worship, Healthy Congregations series is the emphasis on effective evaluation, and Designing Worship Together continues this theme by dedicating an entire chapter to structuring an evaluation regime for worship planners. Careful, thoughtful, and honest evaluation is a critical component in improving worship, and this book provides an unusual breadth of practical aids for worship evaluation.

Finally, the appendices include a short annotated bibliography of other books and resources the reader may find useful. Notably, there is an example educational document titled When You Worship With Us, which congregational worship planners would do well to adapt in their home churches. Copious supplementary material is available from the book's web site at Calvin Institute of Christian Worship.

The primary weakness a reader will identify is the absence of practical help in guiding the formation and education of worship planners, new and old. Successful application of the book's principles over time will require continual investment in formation, perhaps more than many other ministries in a local congregation. Perhaps the authors will to address this weakness in a future edition of this otherwise comprehensive book.

Becoming a Healthy Church: Ten Traits of a Vital Ministry

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Becoming a Healthy Church: Ten Traits of a Vital Ministry
Stephen A. Macchia
Manufacturer: Baker Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Ritual | Other Practices | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Becoming a Healthy Church Workbook
Becoming a Healthy Team: Five Traits of Vital Leadership
Becoming a Healthy Disciple: Ten Traits of a Vital Christian
Becoming a Healthy Church: 10 Characteristics
Simple Church: Returning to God's Process for Making Disciples

ASIN: 0801065038
Release Date: 2003-11-01

Book Description

A wonderful tool that I recommend to every church that is serious about being purpose-driven. -Rick Warren, author of The Purpose-Driven Church. Now available in trade paper, Becoming a Healthy Church illustrates the ten most important characteristics of church health. Based on extensive surveys, this helpful volume is designed to encourage the creation of a healthy climate for your church and its ministry.

Average customer rating:

Becoming a Healthy Church Workbook
Stephen A. Macchia
Manufacturer: Baker Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Becoming a Healthy Church: Ten Traits of a Vital Ministry
Becoming a Healthy Church: 10 Characteristics
Becoming a Healthy Team: Five Traits of Vital Leadership
Becoming a Healthy Disciple: Ten Traits of a Vital Christian
Simple Church: Returning to God's Process for Making Disciples

ASIN: 0801091187
Release Date: 2001-12-01

Book Description

Stephen Macchia's popular book "Becoming a Healthy Church" illustrates the ten characteristics of church health. The author suggests that all churches engage in an assessment process each year to determine the health of the church, and he has written this guide to help them in that process. With "Becoming a Healthy Church Workbook", churches will be able to better analyze and improve their effectiveness in maintaining the ten qualities of a healthy church. It provides the necessary tools for churches to evaluate their health, not just growth, and improve each area. The workbook provides summaries of the ten characteristics and an appendix containing resource materials for the church to use as it works through the strategic planning process. Macchia offers seven steps to help the church assess its strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats, ministry options, ministry goals, and action steps. This workbook is designed to help pastors, church and denominational leaders, and other church members or committees assess the health of their church, realize its potential, and unify the church with a plan toward better health.

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