Releasing the Power of the Smaller Church

Book #2 of 7 was finished last night. This one was called Releasing the Power of the Smaller Church, and it is a bunch of essays compiled by Shawn McMullen. The majority of the essays are written by people who are in smaller churches, and each one talks about some aspect of ministry in a smaller church. I didn't find this to be as rich of a read as Next Generation Leader, and I think you'll see that in the number of quotes below. Regardless, here are a few of the key thoughts from this book.

• -"If the spiritual landscape of our nation is to change, smaller churches all across the country will need to play a major role in the process" (18).
• -"When it comes to healthy church, size isn't the only standard of success. God doesn't work that way. If he did, I doubt Jesus ever would have drawn attention to the poor widow who dropped two copper coins into the temple treasury" (18).
• -"God doesn't focus on the size of the church you serve. He's more concerned about your faithfulness and obedience than the dimensions of your building, your average worship attendance, or your annual budget" (19).
• -Unique opportunities available in a smaller church: to know and be known; for intergenerational relationships; to use gifts and talents; for leadership development; direct contact between the preacher and the people; to impact communities (pp.20-22).
• -"Outsiders are drawn to the gospel when they notice that the lives of Christians are truly different from those who don't know Christ" (26).
• -Three ways to infuse your sermon with power: 1) preach the Word, 2) use the creative power of your mind, and 3) try new things (44-49).
• -"No one on his deathbed wishes he had spent more time at the office" (58).
• -"The overall vision for the church, the direction of the church, and the steps needed to get there, are overseen by the minister with the elders' guidance" (70).
• -"You don't have to be a megachurch to have mega impact on someone's faith, maturity, family, commitment, personal growth or life transformation" (78).
• -Several areas of ministry needeed for a church to achieve its potential: identity; purpose; vision; leadership; passion; philosophy; attitude; commitments (78-81).
• -"No one wants to see his church make a change that isn't progress, so it is not unexpected that good Christian folks will resist changes in which they see no benefit" (86).
• -"In order to prevent conflict, we have to learn that some folks thought differently about things, and that was not a bad thing" (88).
• -"Anything a church does is essentially theological" (90).
• -"When a disruptive member does not repent and return, the overall health of the congregation is still strengthened by the removal of conflict" (96).
• -"Pick up any book on small groups and you will find a number of models for building your small group meetings. Before you determine what your small group meeting will look like, you need first to determine what you hope to accomplish in these meetings" (102).
• -"We may have to make several adjustments in our journey before discovering the highway to success, but with God's help we will discover it" (115).
• -"From a church survey of 6,000 church members, there was absolutely no correlation between length of church attendance and spiritual maturity" (120).
• -"[Keep in mind] that while a new building may attract guests, it will be the church (Christ's body) that keeps them coming back. The building is a tool; we, God's people, are still called to do the work" (148).
• -"Perhaps one important step for many of us in smaller church is to change the paradigm from which we operate" (151).
• -"For many leaders and volunteers in ministry, real growth comes not immediately, but after years of diligent effort that have paved the way for growth" (152).
• -"If you want your smaller church to have an impact on your community, think beyond the walls of your building" (152).
• -"Smaller churches shouldn't try to be larger than they really are. That's not to say we shouldn't dream big dreams and plan big plans, but we must think and act realistically in order to do ministry effectively" (154).