Gary L. McIntosh, There’s Hope for Your Church: First Steps to Restoring Health and Growth. Baker Books, 2012. Referenced in: Traditional Church Renewal Church Leadership Foundations – Research on Effective Churches Small Church Leadership LifeandLeadership.com Summary This is a distillation of McIntosh’s four decades of consultations with over 1,000 churches and his experience as a
Wayne Cordeiro, Irresistible Church: 12 Traits of a Church Heaven Applauds. Bethany House, 2012. Referenced in: Strategies for Church Leadership, Church Health and Renewal – DIAGNOSTIC Models LifeandLeadership.com Summary Cordeiro reflects upon his experiences with the New Hope Church in Hawaii to offer TWELVE CHARACTERISTICS of in Irresistible Church. By “irresistible” he means more than
Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger, Simple Church: Returning to God’s Process for Making Disciples. B and H Books, 2006. Referenced in: Strategies for Church Renewal: Disciple-Making Strategies for Church Renewal: Simple, Minimalist LifeandLeadership.com Summary Thom Rainer is probably America’s leading researcher on effective congregational life. Here he teams with Eric Geiger. They write about the
Charles Halley, The Heart of the Matter: Changing the World God’s Way (TCP Leadership Series). Chalice Press, 2006. Referenced in: Strategies for Church Renewal – Diagnostic/Prescriptive, Disciple-Making Strategies for Church Renewal – Integrated Spiritual/Strategic LifeandLeadership.com Summary This excellent resource distills the insight of a seasoned minister and business executive who came to the realization that
Jeffrey D. Jones, Traveling Together: A Guide for Disciple-Forming Congregations. Alban Institute, 2005. Referenced in: Strategies for Church Renewal – Diagnostic/Prescriptive, Disciple-Making LifeandLeadership.com Summary Jones begins by surveying the marginalized state of today’s church alongside other characteristics of the “post” world that affect ministry. His essential message is that established ways of doing ministry simply
Greg Hawkins and Cally Parkinson, Reveal: Where Are You? Willow Creek Association, 2007. Companion volumes: Hawkins and Parkinson, Follow Me: What’s Next for You? Hawkins and Parkinson, Focus: The Top Ten Things People Want and Need from You and Your Church Hawkins and Parkinson, Move: What 1,000 Churches Reveal About Spiritual Growth Referenced in: Strategies
George Barna, Growing True Disciples: New Strategies for Producing Genuine Followers of Christ. Waterbrook Press, 2001. Referenced in: Strategies for Church Renewal: Diagnostic/Prescriptive – Disciple-Making LifeandLeadership.com Summary This is a result of The Barna Research Group’s study of two dozen churches that have been effective in developing genuine followers of Christ. Several sections of the
Greg Ogden on Discipleship Referenced in: Strategies for Church Renewal: Diagnostic/Prescriptive – Disciple-Making Dr. Greg Ogden is executive pastor of discipleship at Christ Church of Oak Brook in Oak Brook, Illinois. He also served for nine years as senior pastor of Saratoga Federated Church in Saratoga, California, where he developed a discipleship program used by
Bill Hull. The Disciple-Making Church, Updated Edition: Leading a Body of Believers on the Journey of Faith Baker Books, 2010. Closely related: Bill Hull and Dallas Willard, Choose the Life, T-Net Disciple-Making Referenced in: Strategies for Church Renewal: Diagnostic/Prescriptive – Disciple-Making LifeandLeadership.com Summary This is one of several volumes authored by Bill Hull built upon
Christian Schwarz, Natural Church Development: A Guide to Eight Essential Qualities of Healthy Churches, 3rd Edition. Church Smart Resources, 2006. Referenced in: Strategies for Church Renewal – Diagnostic/Prescriptive Strategies for Church Renewal – Organic LifeandLeadership.com Summary Natural Church Development (NCD) is one of the more widely used approaches to church development, perhaps second only to
