Book #11. Rebuilt, by
Michael White & Tom Corcoran. Paperback.
This is an excellent “how to”
resource for pastors and church leaders. The authors are a Catholic parish
priest and a lay leader who realized that their parish “wasn’t working.” This
book is the story of how they turned around Church of the Nativity in Timonium,
Maryland.
White and Corcoran stepped out
of the “Catholic bubble” to attend evangelical church-growth seminars. This led
them to the works of Rick Warren and Bill Hybels. They even attended some successful
mega-churches in their area to develop a blueprint for change that could work
in their Catholic context. Some steps seemed simple, like making the church
entrance more appealing and greeters more friendly.
Other changes were harder, and
the authors are honest about their struggles, and about their failures. They
spend a lot of time talking about their hiring strategy, including their
mistake of filling positions too hastily as they were endeavoring to make
changes. They also talk about the struggle of changing the entrenched culture
of their own congregation.
The book explains how their
process was rotted in Catholicism. The book certainly has quotes from Warren
and Hybels and other evangelicals, but a number of Popes and other Catholic
thinkers are also referenced. They also include ideas from management experts,
such as Jim Collins and Seth Godin.
The mix of resources
referenced in the book is a strength, as well as the authors’ transparency in
discussing their experiences. No matter the organization, church or other, the
principles presented in this book are worth considering.
Source: Public library
Note: I heard of this book
from Father Roderick, on a recent episode of his podcast The Break.
No comments:
Post a Comment