Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Book Review and A Reminder

“Strategic Leadership for a Change: 
Facing Our Losses, Finding Our Future”
by Kenneth J. McFayden
a book review from Billy Ricketts, 
Congregational Ministries CLP, Second Presbyterian, Norfolk


My first instinct when seeing that this book was written by a Dean from a seminary was that it would be steeped in academic language and probably written from a perspective that was far from reality.  On the contrary, McFayden’s book manages to clarify the reason for dysfunctional church behavior that most church leaders have experienced firsthand.

When the author talks about church loss (the loss of members; pastors & staff; traditions; status in the community; stability; identity; confidence and energy for ministry) he is describing what so many are experiencing in the Presbyterian Church USA. 

The author strikes close to home when he muses that we all want quick resolution to every problem in the church.  In many cases, we simply want to pay someone to provide the “silver bullet” that will make our youth group thrive or our praise band sound like they’re from Hillsong.  The reality is that change is never quite that simple…    

McFayden builds his book on the premise that the one thing that that the church fears the most is “change”.  His quote that “the only person who likes change is a wet baby” screams volumes about us! 

We say that we yearn for growth in our churches (especially the addition of young families) and that we’ll do almost anything to see it happen (even adding a contemporary service). However, the reality is that “change” way too often results in a number of folks either leaving the church or staying when they should leave.

The first few chapters of the book are quite helpful in identifying exactly what has really happened in the culture and environment where un-welcomed change has occurred.  The final chapters offer practical advice aimed at helping churches recover from loss and change.     

At the end of each chapter, there are a series of practical questions that would be quite helpful for congregations and their leaders to consider as they ponder the past, present and future of their church.

While this book is fabulous for armchair psychologists, I would strongly suggest that it become mandatory reading for any church leader who is on a path for substantive change in their church (interim ministry, massive change in worship style, etc.). Please do yourself a favor and read through this VERY informative book!

Ken McFayden, Dean of The Center for Ministry and Leadership Development and Professor of Ministry and Leadership Development at Union Presbyterian Seminary, is the keynote speaker and a workshop leader for Equipping the Saints: Resources for a Vibrant Church, on Saturday, November 6, at First Presbyterian Church, Norfolk.  Register online today for this inspiring event!

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