Bill Easum, A Second Resurrection: Leading Your Congregation to New Life. Abingdon Press, 2007.
Referenced in: Congregational Renewal – Integrated Spiritual/Strategic
LifeandLeadership.com Summary
In typical Easum no nonsense style, this volume addresses churches that cannot be renewed by any of the current models or ministry programs. Instead, they are not attuned to God’s purpose, and have experienced spiritual lethargy or death. He affirms what most consultants and authors on this subject realize but rarely bring to the surface, that some churches are lead by people who are far from spiritual, and they lead churches that are turned far more inward than devoted to Christ. These churches cannot be revitalized. They must be resurrected. Easum offers a number of soul-searching surveys or question-lists designed for individuals and study groups to awaken into realizing their need for revival, helping them to arrive at an honest appraisal of their situation.
I recommend this as an excellent “heart-conditioning” read for any group of leaders who believe their church needs renewal. Brace yourself for some tough language, and open up these pages for a confrontational, but often painfully accurate, assessment of the condition of many churches. One does not have to agree with Easum’s pictures of what constitutes a thriving church vs. a dead church, but most will come away believing he is right on most accounts.
This is one of several books that help with the “heart preparation” needed for meaningful church renewal. It is good alongside Halley’s Heart of the Matter, McConnell’s Renew Your Congregation, Barbara Brown Taylor’s Speaking of Sin, and Tom Bandy’s Talisman. Though each of these books emerges from very different traditions, and vary considerably in style and philosophy, each addresses an important nuance of spiritual readiness for congregational renewal.
From the Publisher
For many congregational and denominational leaders, the goal for churches experiencing declining worship attendance is to turn those congregations around. The turnaround church is one that has stagnated or is in decline. The old trends are reversed, new members are added, and everyone rejoices in this story of a congregation restored to health and vitality.
But what if the metaphors of decline, stagnation, and loss of health just aren t getting to the problem? What if the situation is much worse than what those ways of describing it imply? What if the congregation is spiritually dead?
The only solution is resurrection.
About the Author
Bill Easum is Senior Consultant with 21st Century Strategies and is one of the most highly respected church consultants and Christian futurists in North America. Bill has been a pioneer in the church growth movement, with 35 years of pastoral ministry in four churches and two denominations. During his 24 years at Colonial Hills Church in San Antonio, the church grew from 35 in worship to over 1,000, with 2,200 members. His record of evangelization and social justice ministries has been acknowledged by the Industrial Areas Foundation in New York as one of the finest records in North America. Bill is a graduate of Baylor University, B.A., Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, M.D., and Perkins School of Theology, S.T.M. Bill and his wife Jan have one daughter, Caran. Bill’s main vice is he loves to salt water fish and then let the fish go.
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