In my quest to try to shake things up and focus things at Drennon over the past four months, I've read lots and lots of books on the subject. Still probably not enough, but it's a start. This one, Comeback Churches, took me a while to read because it's very full of statistics, charts, data, etc., making it a little harder to "not put down."
The impact is, I hope, very high, though. What these two men of God discuss in the book is just how a large list of churches--324 in fact, ranging from tiny like us to megachurches--transitioned from dying or plateauing to thriving and growing.
Some of the more important findings were the importance of a focused church vision, a revived, Spirit-led pastor and effective lay ministry. The focus wasn't on making everything modern, or big, or bright or loud, as one might stereotypically think, but instead it was about being the church needed at your location, sharing and spreading the gospel to the people of the area. Some churches need to be more modern, some need to embrace traditions of the past.
Even though I struggled a bit with this book because of its readability, I am thrilled to have read it. It has confirmed much of what I recently learned in the Craig Groeschel and Andy Stanley books I've recently read, and has helped further focus me with our congregation. I'm unveiling the new Drennon Christian Church vision statement this coming Sunday, based on recommendations from young and old within our pews. I'm investigating doing a spiritual gifts inventory this summer, which has never been done before within the memories of our parishioners. And finally I'm probably going to try to embark upon my John Wayne Bible Study I wrote three or four years ago as a student at the Londen Institute for Evangelism.
I hope to continue to find good reading material to help me grow as a pastor of our small church in Drennon Springs, Kentucky.
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