Growing Edge

“Health” and “development” have replaced “church growth” as the buzz words in discussions of the effectiveness of congregations. Recognizing the fundamental inadequacy (and unfairness) of size as the chief measure of success, pastors have been eager to find other attributes of a “good church.”

In Becoming a Healthy Church: Ten Characteristics (Baker, 1999), Stephen Macchia offers a top-ten list of qualities (not programs) that will be found in every healthy church, regardless of size, denomination, region, or constituency. Macchia contends that with his list in hand, pastors and leadership teams will be able to evaluate and revitalize their churches.

The author intentionally avoids offering models. Instead he relates values (another buzzword) through numerous stories and testimonies—Macchia introduces more characters than a Dickensian novel. Anecdotes from real pastors in his region reinforce the qualities he says are inherent in healthy congregations.

The ten characteristics break no new ground. Neither are they controversial. Macchia gives the reader basic concepts with which to focus heart-level appraisal of a congregation.

The research leading to the findings was somewhat limited and circular. Macchia asked about 2,000 highly committed Christians in New England their opinions of how essential certain attributes were for a church to be dubbed “healthy.” Macchia had determined intuitively the “ten guiding principles (that) make for vibrant congregations” (p.25). The survey responses merely gave the ten a rank ordering.

On-site visits to 100 churches provided some field testing, but no effort was made to quantify any attributes other than those the author pre-selected. Not surprisingly, Macchia says, “the visits and survey affirm the ten characteristics” (p. 25).

While Healthy Church does not suggest much that will surprise pastors about bettering the health of their congregations, it does provoke extensive reflection on each attribute. Macchia invites us to read over his shoulder as he journals his own process of reflection.

He has no hidden agenda, no ax to grind. This is a man who loves the church in all its marvelous variety, but who also wants the church to be everything God intends it to be. He gives pastoral, spiritual counsel to church leaders in a way that makes us feel there is hope.

To Macchia’s credit, Healthy Church is a welcome addition to the church improvement genre. This field often gives pastors books that are hybrids of chemistry texts and the syllabi of positive thinking, motivational seminars. I appreciate this opportunity to read a pastor’s personal journal (with a few research terms thrown in).

The journal-like quality of the book has some disadvantages. The individual chapters are like cans of mixed-nuts: sermon notes, how-to lists, devotions, analyses, and such. At times Macchia jumps from point to point with little continuity. That is because he wants his observations to be taken in chunks—poured over, talked about, and turned into action plans for individual settings. There are study questions and numerous suggestions for using the book in the self-review process. A workbook is also available.

Perhaps the best way to glean insight from Healthy Church is not as a checklist for assessing a congregation, but as background for a larger diagnostic process.

If your church’s spiritual condition demands that you explore causative factors other than those you already suspect, Becoming a Healthy Church may not be as helpful as you would like. Even so, Stephen Macchia’s book raises safe, but essential and meaningful questions about your church’s health.

—Daniel Brown is pastor of Coastlands Church 280 State Park Dr. Aptos, CA 95003 danielb@coastlands.com

Preaching the New Millennium

by John Killinger (Abingdon, 1999)

BIG IDEA: Preaching at its best rises to the occasion of the time. As the world passes through such a significant event as the turn of the millennium, preachers have a rare opportunity to help people make meaningful spiritual adjustment. Seize the season.

BEST SECTION: “Great Biblical Themes That Find Resonance in the Approach of a New Millennium.” Transition times prompt people to think serious thoughts. Emotions will intensify with the countdown. Killinger shares biblical themes that connect with people’s feelings. Sermons are included.

QUOTE: “If we are excited about the new millennium and what it can reveal of God’s love in the world, our people will hear a new note in our voices and they will be excited.”

BUY IF:

1. you want to understand what people are thinking,
2. you want biblical images for preaching to the spirit of the time,
3. you want sermon models from a master preacher crafted for the turning of the millennium.

Preaching the New and the Now

by David Buttrick (Westminster, 1998)

BIG IDEA: Preaching the future reign of God creates a sense of his work in the now. The church needs to recapture the biblical concept of kingdom as God’s reign on earth. While making a better social order, the church can advocate the hope for an idyllic future world.

BEST CHAPTER: “Old Church and New Order.” Churches get caught up in the old secular order, driven to the “success” of larger crowds, perpetual programs, and more money. The church is called to a new order in the midst of the world. Experiencing God’s real reign will make the church uncomfortable.

QUOTE: “Look, the church is not the kingdom of God, but the church announces God’s social order, calls people to be baptized into citizenship, and invites all humanity to celebrate the great kingdom feast ahead of time.”

BUY IF:

1. you want to review the concept of God’s kingdom as “now but not yet,”
2. you want the church to better the social order now, and
3. you want to sharpen preaching skills in this area.

The Big Idea of Biblical Preaching: Connecting the Bible to People

edited by Keith Willhite and Scott M. Gibson (Baker, 1998)

BIG IDEA: The prominent concept of Haddon Robinson’s book Biblical Preaching is the use of a single idea from a biblical text. He says, “A sermon needs to be a bullet and not buckshot.” Eleven writers each contribute a chapter which advocates one-idea preaching and honors Robinson’s emphasis.

BEST CHAPTER: “Selecting the Plot.” Deductive and inductive reasoning help the preacher stay with the main point. One-idea preaching allows for flexibility of sermon forms and is sensitive to audience needs.

QUOTE: “Look, the church is not the kingdom of God, but the church announces God’s social order, calls people to be baptized into citizenship, and invites all humanity to celebrate the great kingdom feast ahead of time.”

BUY IF:

1. you want to learn how various sermon forms can be shaped in one big idea, or
2. you need help getting the audience to relate to your sermons.

—Harold T. Bryson Mississippi College Clinton, Mississippi

To order books reviewed in LEADERSHIP, call 1-800-266-5766, ext. 1250.

NEW SOFTWARE

The Pastor’s Personal Manager

Help for organization-challenged ministers.

We asked three pastors to test ClergyTools, a personal information manager for ministers that combines ten functions such as library, scheduling, and counseling records in one package (Loizeaux Brothers, makers of Bible Companion Software, $49.99). After using it six weeks, they told us what they think.

Copyright © 1999 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal. Click here for reprint information on Leadership Journal.