To be honest I’ve lost all track of when I should be posting. So sorry if I’ve stuffed up your RSS feed. On the plus side it means I’m posting today. Which is quite exciting. Today I thought I’d do another book review, because my last one was well received. Well at least by the one person who commented! Anyway, I’m going to review a book my boss made me read-but which I ended up finding quite helpful: 7 Practices of Effective Ministry by Andy Stanley, Reggie Joiner & Lane Jones.
Who’s it for?
It is definitely a book aimed at those engaged in church-based ministry. BUT before you tune out there is valuable stuff in there for anyone engaged in Christian ministry, which if you’re a Christian you are. Also if you run a business there are some effective strategies too.
Easy Read?
Definitely. I feel like I’m interview myself here. Actually, I am. It’s important to know that it is easy to read or you wouldn’t bother. It is written in an engaging and easy to read style. In fact the first half of the book is a story and who doesn’t like stories? In the first half of the book the 7 practices are introduced in a parable style and in the second half they are explained and deepened. In fact when I started reading it I skipped the first half and went straight to the meat. Which you could do. But I felt bad and went back to the beginning anyways.
Valuable?
Yes! The writers really focus on practical things that you can be doing as a church for your ministry to grow. I also think that these practices would be effective for individuals but also say, if you lead your Sunday school, or are in charge of your youth group. The 7 practices are things like Clarify the Win and Listen to Outsiders. Which aren’t necessarily new but the way they are looked is. The writers also present lots of examples to support their ideas. I particularly liked how throughout the book there is a focus on teamwork, and a realization that we can’t do it all on our own. In case you’re sitting there thinking “Oh no, but churches grow through the Holy Spirit…” You’re absolutely right, it is not what we do it is what God does and the authors recognize this: “Conspicuously absent here is any discussion about prayer, the Holy Spirit, and dependence upon God. Though absent from the book, these things are certainly not absent from the culture of North Point or from any healthy church.” I think the most valuable thing about the book is that it encouraged me to ask questions about the ministry I’m in, and to think about it at a deeper level.
Dangers?
Yeah, there could be. (No ‘Yes!’ this time. Feeling like being excited about danger is a bad thing) One of the points is about narrowing your focus. Which I agree with if you are spread to broad you won’t accomplish as much. I just feel that there is a danger here. It’s a common theme in leadership books these days, “lead to your strengths.” Which let me emphasise, I don’t think that is bad. God has given us gifts and we are to use them. I think the danger here is that it means we can become short sighted and unaware of needs in our community. And while the authors acknowledge that the Holy Spirit is key, I think this step is the one where we are most likely to stop relying on God, and start thinking about our focus. The danger that we will start to go, “Oh no, that’s not my focus. So I can’t help you. Sorry,” is a worry for me and could be an end result. To be fair that’s a danger that could result but if you follow practice 7 ‘Work on it,’ it is a danger that is lessened.
Anything else?
Yeah. Read the book. It’ll get you thinking about your ministry. Which is a good thing. Even if you disagree with the book.
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