Carl S. Dudley and Sally A. Johnson, Energizing the Congregation: Images that Shape Your Church’s Ministry. Westminster/John Knox, 1993.
Referenced in: Congregational Culture, Church Identity
LifeandLeadership.com Summary
This volume makes a helpful contribution to understanding church identities and images. It is not as broad a treatment of the subject as Chand’s Cracking Your Church’s Culture Code or Nelson’s Congregations, but instead focuses on five images which their research and experience suggest as most prevalent among American churches – Pillar, Pilgrim, Survivor, Prophet, and Servant. These images are described thoroughly, with separate chapters devoted to each, presenting case studies of real congregations that embody each image.
The case studies are helpful, but the greatest value of this text is the last two chapters. Chapter 7 discusses how church leaders may use and/or transform congregational images to forward mission. They discuss how to bring a congregation’s images to their conscious attention so that they can assess both appreciate and critique their self-understandings toward more effective mission. Chapter 8 discusses implications for congregational development with regard to worship, spiritual development, evangelism, stewardship, and overall stronger congregational impact upon communities.
From the Publisher
The discovery and strong and compelling congregational self-images binds members together and energizes ministry, according to congregational researchers Carl Dudley and Sally Johnson. The authors conclude that churches are revitalized by claiming the symbols that best articulate self-identity. Thus, churches gain the knowledge to build on their strengths and address their weaknesses. Dudly and Johnson describe five images of churches’ relationships to their communities over time – the Survivor, Prophet, Pillar, Pilgrim, and Servant styles – found in a wide variety of congregations and situations.
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