Resources : books

Strategies for transforming a toxic church culture

Why is it that the best strategic plans and good leadership often are not able to move churches in the desired direction? Sam Chand contends that toxic culture is to blame. Quite often, leaders don't sense the toxicity, but it poisons their relationships and derails their vision. This work describes five easily identifiable categories of church culture (inspiring-accepting-stagnant-discouraging-toxic), with diagnostic descriptions in the book and a separate online assessment tool. The reader will be able to identify strengths and needs of their church's culture, and then apply practical strategies (communication, control and authority, selection and placement of personnel, etc.) to make their church's culture more positive.

A hands-on resource for both large and small churches.

It has been predicted that in the twenty-first century extremely large churches would emerge in America that resemble neither an elephant nor a field of mice. Which is better? At one time the answer would have been either/or. Now it's both/and. We want both the intimacy of smallness and the impact of bigness-we want a hybrid of the two. Hybrid Church is a practical guide for clergy and leaders who want to have the best of both church worlds: the intimacy of small "house church" groups and the impact of very large mega-churches.

Baby Boomers and Beyond explores the opportunities and challenges that the older adult population presents for the Christian community. Author Amy Hanson dares church leaders to let go of stereotypes about aging and embrace a new paradigm, that older adults are for the most part active, healthy, and capable of making significant contributions for the Kingdom of God.

Hanson offers a realistic view of the boomers and reveals what matters most to this age group: staying young, juggling multiple relationships, and redefining retirement. By tapping into their needs, pastors can engage this burgeoning group and unleash the power of the boomer generation to enhance and strengthen the mission of the church.

The book digs into the questions that arise when working with this growing population. How do we let go of "one-size-fits-all" ministry? What spiritual growth can we encourage? How do we meld multiple generations? And, most important, how do we harness the potential of this new generation? These are important considerations for those who want to be serious about ministering with aging boomers.

Baby Boomers and Beyond contains numerous illustrative examples from churches and baby boomers across the country and offers church leaders best practices to put in motion.

Praise for Baby Boomers and Beyond

"Well-written, practical, and full of insight based on current research, Baby Boomers and Beyond opens our eyes and hearts to new ways to embrace older adults, for the benefit of the whole church and to the glory of God."
~ Dr. Sue Edwards, assistant professor of Christian education, Dallas Theological Seminary, and author of four books on church leadership and the Sue Edwards Inductive Bible Study series

"The insights and strategies for ministry with boomers and older adults as detailed in this book are a must read for all church leaders seeking to be faithful to God and who want to be engaged in Kingdom building."
~ Rev. Dr. Richard H. Gentzler, Jr., director, Center on Aging and Older Adult Ministries, The United Methodist Church, and author, Aging and Ministry in the 21st Century

Learn more about the author at her website www.amyhanson.org

Recent years have seen a clear increase in church planting enthusiasm across the globe. As church leaders look for ways to start multiple new congregations that in turn reproduce virally, they need credible information, healthy examples, and reliable guidance.

Based on a national, cross-denominational study commissioned by Leadership Network, Viral Churches outlines the best practices in church multiplication movements and reveals the common threads among them. A hands-on resource, Viral Churches offers the fresh vision and critical perspectives essential as a catalyst for today's church planting leaders.

Authors Ed Stetzer and Warren Bird draw from their own experiences, the insights of numerous pioneering leaders, and what was arguably the nation's largest research project on church multiplication. They show leaders how to plant churches that multiply into a movement, and they offer inspiration for the need to do so. Filled with illustrative stories from successful church planters, this important book outlines practical ideas that are essential to the success of church multiplication networks. Each chapter highlights a different point on such issues as keeping the focus on evangelism; recruiting, assessing, and deploying planters; increasing the survivability of new churches; using a multisite strategy effectively; funding; overcoming obstacles; facing challenges ahead; and many more.

Throughout the book, Ed Stetzer and Warren Bird advocate the core belief that "Church planting is good. A vision for a church multiplication movement is better."

Praise for Viral Churches

"This book by . . . my dear friends and partners in ministry . . . is pure gold. . . .There is simply no better way to reach, teach, train, and send out disciples than through churches that are planted with the intentionality of planting others."
~ Rick Warren, Saddleback Church

"There is no doubt that the idea of exponentially reproducing church is the next step, providing us with perhaps the only viable way forward to overcome the current impasse of Christianity in the West. In Viral Churches,Ed and Warren team up to produce a characteristically well researched, missiologically hefty, and definitive book for our times."
~ Alan Hirsch, author, The Forgotten Ways, and coauthor, Untamed

Also from the authors: The Externally Focused Church and Living a Life on Loan

Neil Cole's best-selling book Organic Church described the fastest growing segment of contemporary Christianity-the so-called organic church. Now in this next-step book, he answers questions about how to deal with theological and organizational issues that come up. He talks about issues such as what to do with finances, children, heresy, leader training, and rituals and ordinances. Without the top-down structure of a denomination, even people who are proponents of this small, house-church model worry that they are not doing it right.

• An important resource for anyone involved with or thinking of starting an organic or house church
• Addresses practical issues of theology, rituals, doctrinal heresy, how to handle children, finances, and other important questions
• Written by an acknowledged expert who is now and has been for over twenty years an organic church planter and practitioner

In the burgeoning missional church movement, churches are seeking to become less focused on programs for members and more oriented toward outreach to people who are not already in church. This fundamental shift in what a congregation is and does and thinks is challenging for leaders and congregants. Using the metaphor of map-making, the book explains the perspective and skills needed to lead congregations and denominations in a time of radical change over unfamiliar terrain as churches change their focus from internal to external.

• Offers a clear guide for leaders wanting to transition to a missional church model.
• Written by Alan Roxburgh, a prominent expert and practitioner in the missional movement and author of The Missional Leader
• Guides leaders seeking to create new maps for leadership and church organization and focus.

Watch the video and hear Alan talk about the book.

Written by Linda Bergquist and Allan Karr, two experienced church planters and mentors/teachers, Church Turned Inside Out offers church leaders a new way to think about how their churches are run. Taking cues from the world of business and offering a multi-disciplined and leading-edge approach, the authors stress the importance of incorporating the design process when establishing a new church or planning the ongoing future of an established church. This groundbreaking book also includes ideas for becoming a more effective church leader.

- Offers a practical perspective and a multi-disciplinary approach to establishing a new church or running an existing one
- Includes important lessons for nurturing church leadership skills
- Shows how to honor a church's purpose while embracing its unique culture
- Contains a wealth of illustrative models, examples, charts, and other visual aids

Watch the video!

Relational Intelligence offers church leaders a guide for learning to increase their ability to form and sustain stronger and healthier relationships with everyone in their organizations-staff, lay leaders, members, prospective members, and others. Based on the premises that we often aware of relational awkwardness in others but blind to it in ourselves, the book shows how leaders can learn to be smarter in the way they conduct their relationships.

- Offers practical tips and engaging anecdotes to show church leaders how to develop their relational intelligence.
- Delineates the key ingredients that make leaders relationally intelligent.

Author Steve Saccone reveals how to pay attention to nuances of relational dynamics and offers suggestions for way to handle relationships more intelligently and productively.

Visit relationalintelligence.info for more information, free resources, and a Relational Intelligence assessment.

1. Engage with God (the life of worship and personal devotion)
2. Engage with God's people (through small groups and other means)
3. Engage with your community (through involvement in social needs)
4. Engage with the world (developing an awareness and involvement in global mission)

This “engagement” model is not merely a list of functions or stages of growth it integrates the church, connecting worship and mission, local witness and global involvement, small groups and personal devotion.

Mel Lawrenz (Brookfield, WI) is senior pastor at the large Elmbrook Church, recently named one of the most influential and innovative churches in the U.S.

"WOW! This book is for every christian leaders who wants to move their church from a narrow self focus to active engagement in the world with all the resources and possibilties of heaven."
Mike Slaughter, Ginghamsburg Church

"Mel Lawrenz’s vision of a local church that actually reflects the wholeness and beauty of God as it engages with the Lord, one another, and the community is a much needed call back to God’s original plan A – a plan that has too often been cast aside in the name of specialization, church growth, and expediency."
Larry Osborne, author Sticky Church

Visit www.wholechurch.org for more ideas and to download the discussion guide.

Hear a message from the author.

In Missional Renaissance, Reggie shows them the three significant shifts in their thinking and behavior that they need to make that will allow leaders to chart a course toward being missional:
(1) from an internal to an external focus, ending the church as exclusive social club model;
(2) from running programs and ministries to developing people as its core activity; and
(3) from professional leadership to leadership that is shared by everyone in the community.

Watch a short e-promo and hear Reggie talk about his book.

With in-depth discussions of the "what" and the "how" of transitioning to being a missional church, readers will be equipped to move into what McNeal sees as the most viable future for Christianity. For all those thousands of churches who are asking about what to do next after reading The Present Future, Missional Renaissance will provide the answer.

Creps' new book is a topic of interest both inside and outside the church as older leaders realize that they're not "getting it" when it comes to technologies (iPod, IM, blogging) or cultural issues such as the fact that younger people see the world in an entirely different way. Creps has been personally involved in reverse mentoring for several years and has spoken and written on the subject extensively. He has pastored three churches (one Boomer, one Builder, on X'er) and is currently a church planter in Berkeley, California. He has also served as a consultant and and a seminary professor and administrator, holding a PhD in Communication Studies and a D.Min. from the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary.

Listen to Earl now!

Visit Earl's Website and download the FREE study guide.

"This is a book that heightens the depths and deepens the peaks. Like all the best things in life, it is not to be entered into lightly, but reverently and in the fear of a God who is waiting for the church to stop asking 'What would Jesus do?' and start asking 'What is Jesus doing?'" (Dr. Leonard Sweet, E. Stanley Jones Chair in Evangelism, Drew University, and bestselling author of Post-Modern Pilgrims, SoulSalsa, SoulTsunami, and AquaChurch; coauthor of A Cup of Coffee at the Soul Cafe)

"Get ready to wake up your spirit and breath deep. McLaren's A New Kind of Christian is a street-level, lived excursion into this present millennium-a world where ministry by control, condescension, and smug certainty gives way to incarnational faith." (Sally Morgenthaler, president, SJM Management Co. and author of Worship Evangelism)

"McLaren's courageous and honest reassessment of our cherished customs and cliches stimulates creative thinking on these vital issues. A New Kind of Christian is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in preparing the church to be vital force in the next generation." (Chuck Smith, Jr., senior pastor, Capo Beach Valvary Chapel and author, The End of the World As We Know It)

"...an engaging tale..." (Christianity & Renewal, July 2002)

In The Story We Find Ourselves In - the much anticipated sequel to his award-winning book A New Kind of Christian - McLaren captures a new spirit of a relevant Christianity, where traditional divisions and doctrinal differences give way to a focus on God and the story of God's love for this world.0

If you are searching for a deeper life with God- one that moves beyond the rhetoric of denominational and theological categories- this delightful and inspiring fictional tale will provide a picture of what it could mean to recapture a joyful spiritual life.

Download the Tangible Kingdom Remix

Tangible Kingdom Primer now available at www.tangiblekingdom.com

"Hugh and Matt are real live heroes. Not only because they provide some original insights into the nature of the mission of incarnational ways of church, but because they courageously pave the way for the rest of us to follow. Laced with the inspirational authority that only practitioners can provide, this book deserves to be taken seriously by all concerned with mission and church in the 21st century."
~ Alan Hirsch, Author of The Forgotten Ways and The Shaping of Things To Come (with Mike Frost)

"Plunging deeper and deeper with Jesus into a grassroots incarnational life is what this book is about. Many aspire to it, some write about it, but very few live out the rhythms of such a holistic lifestyle in the way that Hugh and Matt and their families are currently doing. I am thrilled to see their journey in book form and I hope that The Tangible Kingdom finds a wide and receptive audience."
~Andrew Jones, tallskinnykiwi.com

Church Unique offers church leaders a way to transform their vision with missional effectiveness.

Written by church consultant Will Mancini—a pioneer of a new kind of visioning process to help churches develop a stunningly unique model of ministry that leads to redemptive movement. He guides churches away from an internal focus to emphasize participation in their community and surrounding culture. In this important book, Mancini offers an approach for rethinking what it means to lead with clarity as a visionary. Mancini explains that each church has a culture that reflects its particular values, thoughts, attitudes and actions and shows how leaders can unlock their church’s individual DNA and unleash their congregation’s one-of-a-kind potential.

Whether leading a mega-church or church plant, a multi-site or mainline, a ministry or parachurch, Church Unique will provide inspiration as a practical guide for leading into the future. There is a better way.

Will Mancini, a former pastor is the founder of Auxano, a national consulting group that works with traditional and emerging churches and ministries of all types around the country. Their mission is to navigate leaders through growth challenges with vision clarity (auxano.com).

Remissionalizing established churches can be a rough going. If leaders are to successfully steer the church through the challenges of the 21st Century, they will need help to negotiate the complexities of spirituality, culture, history, and institutional structures that go to make up organizations. Will Mancini is a savvy navigator and Church Unique is an impressive blueprint for organizational renewal.
~ Alan Hirsch - author of The Forgotten Ways and The Shaping of Things To Come and founding director of the innovative Forge Mission Training Network

Unique could have saved me from significant leadership blunders in the last 25 years as a local church pastor. Will’s love for the local church and his skill for facilitating the vision pathway, make this a must read. Will Mancini is a Sherpa, not a travel agent. He has the experience, he knows the trail. I have seen the process in action-it works!
~ Lance Witt - Founder of Replenish Ministries and former executive pastor, Saddleback Community Church

Visit ChurchUnique.com

“The Mosaic Church of Central Arkansas is influencing a systemic rethinking of things and setting an example that few churches to date have been willing to address.” --From the preface by U.S. Senator Mark L. Pryor

“We cannot ignore the topic of multi-ethnic churches as we live in a multi-ethnic world. Mark DeYmaz writes [with] practical insight, not from theory but from leading an extremely strategic multi-ethnic church that is paving the way for so many others.” --Dan Kimball, senior pastor, Vintage Faith Church, Santa Cruz, California, and author, They Like Jesus But Not the Church

Through personal stories, proven experience and a thorough analysis of the biblical text, Building a Healthy Multi-ethnic Church illustrates both the biblical mandate for the multi-ethnic church as well as the seven core commitments required to bring it about. Mark DeYmaz, pastor of one of the most proven multi-ethnic churches in the country, writes both from his experience and his extensive study of how to plant, grow, and encourage more ethnically diverse churches. He argues that the "homogenous unit principle" will soon become irrelevant and that the most effective way to spread the Gospel in an increasingly diverse world is through strong and vital multi-ethnic churches.

“One of the major transformations in American Christianity is the emergence of hundreds of megachurches in the latter part of the twentieth century. This is the first book to be published that is based on close empirical research and yet is written in a manner that is easily understood by individuals attempting to assess this trend.”

—Donald E. Miller, professor of religion and executive director of the Center for Religion and Civic Culture University of Southern California

Drawing on extensive, broad-based, and well-designed research, as well as telling stories and anecdotes, Beyond Megachurch Myths focuses on the diversity of churches within and dispels popular myths about the megachurch phenomenon. Defining a megachurch as a Protestant church that averages at least 2000 total attendees in their weekend services, Scott Thumma and Dave Travis reveal what these churches are and are not, why they are thriving, what their members say about their experiences, and why they have many valuable lessons to teach smaller churches.

Beyond Megachurch Myths draws a clear picture of megachurches’ unique characteristics and how they are changing the landscape of American religion. The book debunks seven common myths, including that they:
• Are just too big to be good
• Are driven by personality cults and will fade away
• Are selfish and only concerned with their own needs
• Water down faith
• Are bad for the overall religious economy
• Serve people of the same race, class, and political views
• Grow because of the “worship show”

Beyond Megachurch Myths is filled with practical insights and suggestions for pastors and leaders of other church organizations that can be applied to their own organizations and ministries no matter what their size.

Read the Leadership Network press release debunking 11 megachurch myths

To read the introduction, click Sample Chapter Download.

The Blogging Church is a handbook that will inspire and equip you to join the conversation.

The book includes contributions from five of the most popular bloggers in the world—Robert Scoble, Dave Winer, Kathy Sierra, Guy Kawasaki, and Merlin Mann, as well as interviews with blogging pastors such as Mark Driscoll, Craig Groeschel, Tony Morgan, Perry Noble, Greg Surratt, Mark Batterson, and many more.

“I had a lot of questions about blogs and their value for my church. I’m thankful that Brian and Terry are sharing their experiences to answer those questions. Their insights are for everyone in ministry. Whether you are reading blogs, writing blogs, or just trying to figure out how to use the word in a sentence, this book is for you.”--Mark Beeson, senior pastor, Granger Community Church

From author Brian Bailey: How did this book become a reality? It's an amazing story that I still find hard to believe. It started with a post on my blog, Leave It Behind, in 2004.

Download a sample chapter by clicking the button below -- excerpted from The Blogging Church by Brian Bailey with Terry Storch (January 2007, $19.95, paper) by permission of Jossey-Bass, a Wiley Imprint

WATCH THE VIDEO from the authors.

“Earl Creps has written a deeply personal and challenging book--one that caused me to think about my own spiritual journey. Too many of us have made spiritual formation a series of activities and programs; Earl takes us off the map of common practice and into the places where the Spirit is at work. It reminds us that true spiritual formation pervades our lives and the ministries we serve, providing a helpful balance of being and doing. It will be a great encouragement to all who read it.” --Ed Stetzer, author, Breaking the Missional Code

To learn more about Earl Creps, and to download a free study guide, visit www.earlcreps.com

Watch a short video from the author.

Order a DVD of the Church Communication Network presentation of Off-Road Disciplines

"Practicing Greatness is a hard-hitting leadership book, not just a collection of inspirational thoughts." from the Foreword by Ken Blanchard, author of The One-Minute Manager and Lead Like Jesus: Lessons from the Greatest Leadership Role Model of All Time

"I have always been challenged by Reggie McNeal's 'right on' insights. And this book is packed with 'right on' insights for any leader wanting to move from good to great.--Robert Lewis, pastor and men's fraternity founder, Fellowship Bible Church, Little Rock, Arkansas

"The depth and breadth of wisdom in this book is just short of unbelievable. Good leaders aspiring to be great leaders will do well to read this book and allow it to probe and shape their lives." --Bill Easum, Easum, Bandy & Associates

Click here to listen to Reggie McNeal talk about this book.

Order a DVD of the Church Communication Network presentation of Disciplines of Greatness

“Alan J. Roxburgh and Fred Romanuk are two of the few people in the world today who understand how we can create an environment for the missional transformation of the church for the postmodern world. Every church leader should read this book!”--Rev. Dr. Clark D. Cowden, evangelist presbyter, Presbytery of San Joaquin, Presbyterian Church

Click here to hear a message from the authors.

A how-to guide to the burgeoning "coffeehouse ministry"

For many young people, traditional models of church hold very little appeal. They see themselves as more spiritual than religious and are looking for deeper, more authentic relationships with other people and with God. Church leaders and planners are realizing that they must go to where these people already are–in coffeehouses, bars, pubs, and other "third places"–if they want to connect with them and eventually interest these young people in Christianity. Organic Church offers a guide for demystifying this new model of church and shows how to undertake the practical aspects of implementing it. Instead of bringing people into a traditional church, this model helps bring faith to where life happens.

Neil Cole (Long Beach, CA) is a church starter and pastor, and founder and Executive Director of Church Multiplication Associates, which has helped start over 500 churches in 16 states and 12 nations in six years. He is an international speaker and the author of Cultivating a Life for God.

“Organic Church is less about what we are to do than a book about what God has already done and is now doing. I challenge you to put it down without the picture of what God intended the church to be, becoming a hologram in your heart. Read it and reap a harvest of tears at what could be if, as Neil Cole puts it so memorably, we were to ‘lower the bar of how church is done and raise the bar of what it means to be a disciple.’ “ –Len Sweet

To learn more about the author's work in church planting, visit Church Multiplication Associates. Or, click here to listen to the author talk about the ideas behind this book.

Leading from the Second Chair offers an invaluable resource to leaders who serve in second (and third and fourth) chair roles, enabling them to become more productive, proactive, and fulfilled. The book reveals the paradoxes of second chair leadership. These leaders must be subordinate to the top leader yet lead in their own right. They should be deep in their expertise but wide in perspective. And they must be content in their jobs yet remain enthusiastic about their dreams for the future.

“The mission of the organization either hangs together or falls apart at the critical interface between first and second chairs. This helpful volume from seasoned practitioners identifies and addresses the character, competencies, and chemistry that make for effective second-chair leadership. It's a book for you, no matter which seat you're in.”
--Reggie McNeal
Director of Leadership Development, South Carolina Baptist Convention and author of The Present Future.

If you wish to know more about how others are leading effectively from the second chair, we encourage you to visit www.secondchairleaders.com

To view a Flash trailer and to hear the authors talk more about the ideas in this book, click here.

Order a DVD of the Church Communication Network presentation of Leading from the Second Chair

The Way of Jesus is written for those on a journey—from spiritual sojourners to religious refugees. With a focus on our yearning for the Spirit and spirituality, this book opens pathways for experiencing the powerful simplicity in the life and Way of Jesus. All journeys are spiritual by nature, even if we can’t always see the full picture of where God is leading us or why He is leading us there. In their own twenty-year journey, Jonathan and Jennifer Campbell have joined with others to rediscover and embody the life of Jesus. They share a way of living out our spirituality from the core of our being to the very connections that define our humanity. The Way of Jesus weaves their poignant story with a thoughtful exploration of the intersection of culture, community, and spiritual identity. Their adventure is a journey with Jesus toward freedom and a life filled with his love, truth, and power.

“The Campbells lovingly guide us toward an authentic and living encounter with Jesus without all the religious paraphernalia often associated with the institutional church. This book is a gift to those seeking to follow Jesus faithfully in a way that makes real sense to twenty-first century seekers.”
—Alan Hirsch

To learn more about The Way of Jesus, and to begin your journey, visit www.wayofjesus.com.  Or, click here to listen to the author discuss the ideas behind this book.

In Culture Shift, Robert Lewis and Wayne Cordeiro take an intense look at how to transform a church from the inside out. Flowing from their personal experiences in building two equally compelling but radically different churches, Culture Shift shows pastors and other church leaders how to:

• Build an irresistible church culture
• Change a culture that is at odds with your vision
• Recognize the signs of genuine forward progress
• Keep your new culture aligned with your mission

Want to know more about Culture Shift?  Listen to the authors discuss how this book can be a positive impact on you and your church.  Click here to find out more!

Order a DVD of the Church Communication Network presentation of Culture Shift

Order a DVD of the Church Communication Network presentation of Shaped by God's Heart

Click here to go to books.leadnet.org and download Rex Miller's presentation from the Feb 2007 National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) convention.

A Work of Heart shows how God prepares leaders today just as he did in biblical times - and how God creates these leaders in order to share his heart with his people.