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Book Reviews

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:53:00 -0700

The U-turn Church: New Direction for Health and Growth, by Kevin Harney and Bob Bouwer

Among recent books on church leadership one may be helpful to small-church leaders. Last year Kevin Harney and Bob Bouwer published The U-Turn Church: New Direction for Health and Growth, (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2011.) The thesis is that a church that has been plateaued or in decline can find the means to turn around and achieve growth. This thesis is under girded by the experiences of both pastors in their respective churches. Pastor Bouwer took Faith Church of South Holland, IL from its plateau of 250 to over 4000 in twenty years. Pastor Harney took one hundred year old Corinth Church on the out skirts of Byron Center, MI from 250 to 2000 in about the same time. Both men contribute individual chapters about principles and strategies they used to move from plateau to growth.

The format of the book is simple. The reading is easy and enjoyable. The book is in three sections. The first section uses four chapters to lay out some principles that must be adopted before any turn around can be accomplished. Pastor Harney writes the first and third chapters. His first principle is that the will to make a turn around in a church must come from the Lord, Himself. Lesser motives will not do. To this Pastor Bouwer adds the need for a holy urgency to create a zeal for change. To this Pastor Harney adds the necessity for and examples of the development of a clear vision for the future of the church. Finally, Pastor Bouwer reminds the reader of the need for prayer and suggests several ways that prayer plays a key role in the beginning of a turn.

The second section lays out strategies for change. Insisting on biblical foundations for any strategies Pastor Bouwer suggests that every one must set aside personal preferences to implement biblical truths in the ministry practices of the church. However, the primary approach is to have those who complain list their complaints under the headings of biblical truth or personal preference. He admits later that biblical conviction could be a heading. He also does not subject the decisions to make changes to the same categorization. Pastor Harney’s next strategy is to prepare the leadership for the necessary changes. He does this by identifying six road blocks to the turn around and the U-turn approach to removing those road blocks. He goes on to encourage leaders in a U-turn to communicate high expectations for what God will do in this process. Pastor Harney adds a helpful chapter on keeping your heart soft toward people and your skin tough against complaints. After describing the risks that he and the leaders of Faith Church had to take in their turn around, Pastor Bouwer shares eight principles that guide the decisions to take risks. These are tied to the need to fulfill the great commission in their community. Pastor Harney picks up this emphasis in a chapter on looking out to find the unchurched and bring them into the church. This outward look must become part of the church culture and be the test for every U-turn activity. The last chapter of the section sets the bar for excellence up by making it a goal that those coming into the U-turn church sense a captivating enthusiasm or “Wow!” factor. While this is more subjective that the other material of this section, he emphasizes giving everyone access to an uplifting experience in worship or service.

The final section of the book deals with maintaining the growth of the church. They first by deal with myths wrongly typifying church change and then return to the need for personal holiness and zeal for the growth of the church and the out reach to the lost.

The book is well laid out. Each section has a helpful introduction. Each chapter concludes with reflection questions, exercises and prayer. Going through the thirteen chapters one per week a group of leaders could study this for a quarter.

However, at first perusal some facts seem to make the book less than applicable to most small church situations. First neither church was in decline but both were plateaued and not growing. They were concerned that they were not reaching their communities effectively. However, they were at 250 in worship attendance larger than most of the churches in North America. They had not experienced significant decline as many small churches have. Furthermore, both churches were in growing areas. Corinth Church on the out skirts of Byron Center was part of a community growing at a rate greater than 25%. Faith Church moved from South Holland which has a negative growth rate to an Indiana community that has a 12% growth rate. Many small churches are so because their communities are in decline. To make a U-turn of the proportions experienced by these pastors would not be possible.

Yet if we believe that some growth is possible for any small church, then the principles and strategies suggested by these men are helpful. These begin with the individual pastor and then enlist the leadership, involve the congregation and finally bring the gospel out to the unchurched members of the community. That end governs the process and has value for any small church plateaued or declining in a community of unreached people. Pastor Bouwer rightly points out that eighty to eighty five percent of all churches in America have reached a plateau or are declining. All the while America is the fourth most unchurched nation on earth.

For small-church pastors and lay leaders this book has value. Because most of us deal with churches that have declined or that have stalled out in growth and, more importantly, in evangelism the basic principles are worth the study. The book is a good addition to a number of more recent efforts that treat the church as a sacred and essential part of God’s plan that can be turned to better serve its mission. These men like most of us loved their church enough not to scrap its witness but redirect it to new outreach and growth. Whatever the starting point or condition of the community of that church, many of the principles and strategies would be helpful. The first and third sections remind us how important the heart condition of the leadership is in effecting a turn around in a small church. Also the means to clarify and communicate the vision for change and growth can give any leader direction in any small church. Fears and complaints about change are dealt with directly and gently. Small church leaders will agonize over the offenses to beloved souls in the course of change but the suggestions of these men give a path to open discussion and communication. The steps to making decisions to change are well laid out for anyone in any church situation. The book is definitely worth the read for any small-church pastor or leader.

Apr 19, 2012 2:53 PM

Topical Listing

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 12:03:49 -0800

Administration and Management

Budget and Finances

Christian Education

Community Involvement

Conflict/Crisis Management

Discipleship

Equipping for Ministry

Evangelism and Outreach

Leadership/Leadership Development

Morale in the Small Church

Pastoral Care

Revitalizatiion

Rural Church Ministry

Volunteers and Staff

Worship.

Partnering Ministries

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 13:35:13 -0700

Village Missions exists to glorify Jesus Christ by developing spiritually vital churches in rural North America. For more information regarding this ministry visit their website.

Sitemap

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Contact Form

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Resources

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 14:41:55 -0700

Books

Online Courses and Seminars:

Online Courses and Seminars by Dr. Glenn Daman

Shepherding the Small Church, Western Seminary

Ministry Issues in the Small Church, Western Seminary

Developing Leaders in the Small Church, Western Seminary A training video series designed to train and equip the board to be effective in the small church. An excellent tool to be used in conjuction with the book, "Developing Leaders in the Small Church."

Other Resources and Organizations

Village Missions

Rural Home Missionary Association

InFaith

Contributors

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 14:27:50 -0700

Dr. Glenn Daman Pastor, Author and Director of the Center for Small Church Leadership, author of "Shepherding the Small Church," "Leading the Small Church," and "Developing Leaders in the Small Church."

Les Puryear, Pastor and church planter, Author of "The Beauty of the Small Church."

Mike Jones: Assistant Director, Village Missions.

Mark Danielson, Assistant Director, Rural Home Missions Association.

Dr. Vern Wilkinson, District Representative, Village Missions, Author of "The Bible, Live: A Basic Guide for Preachers and Teachers in Small Churches."

Dr. John Koessler ,Chair and Professor of Pastoral Studies, Moody Bible Institute. Author of "No Little Places."

Shawn McMullen, Pastor, editor of The Lookout magazine, Author of "Unleashing the Potential of the Smaller Church," and "Releasing the Power of the Smaller Church"

Mike Boyle, Assistant Professor of Pastoral Studies, Moody Bible Institute

Dr. Gordan Anderson, Ministry Director, InFaith Ministries (formerly American Missionary Fellowship).

The Small Church Board

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 14:21:04 -0700

The Small Church Shepherd

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 14:20:05 -0700