It is refreshing to come across a book that is realistic about the challenges of change in congregational life, and offers hope, encouragement and guidance for those who are involved in being part of God's change over the long term.
Here are what some people say about the book:
Max
This book is up front...but also encourages people to think that being part of change requires some active responses....for instance in the first chapter it makes no bones that change will bring conflict...but the question we need to consider is will our responses to change result in life threatening conflict or life giving conflict
Lt Roades (Amazon)
The authors quickly set the stage for the focus of the book--"Many Christian Congregations in American today need to experience life-giving transformation." The background of the book is not someone doctoral or master's thesis or some seminarian or bible college student's weekend project. The result of the book through processed hindsight is the end (but continuing) analysis of congregational transformation, both organizational and local levels, within the Union Bible Association (Houston, Texas). The authors became part of a team that sought to impact its denominational association by transformation its present state of ministry engagement to fuse into a renewed vision that matched to the Mission of the Church as established by Jesus Christ.
As stated in their intent, "This book presents the model and principles for congregational transformation that emerged from their journey. In sharing the lessons from our experience, we hope to encourage other congregations and to help them navigate their own tumultuous environments."
What was unique (in the reviews understanding) about this process as set out by this leadership team was its approach. Rather than developing an entirely new system of evaluation, analysis, and tools to accomplish such a diverse transition, the team integrated current research, programs, paradigms, etc. into a system that embraced transformation from the inside out--structure and people. This integrated model was not merely an agent to change programs or ministries, but the model first set out to change hearts and minds and to ensure the "church" was moving in the same direction--that is, the people were aligning with God rather than a system. The transformation was to continuously occur individually, corporately, and institutionally. The living system integrated for this organization was wholistic and not ambiguous.
The model, as impacting change for individual, corporate, and institutional levels, is a fusion of the a diverse set of origins--Henry Blackaby and Claude King's Experiencing God; Congregations such as Bill Hybels and Rick Warren; Peter Senge's The Fifth Discipline; John Kotter's Leading Change; and John Aldrich, President of Multnomah Seminary.
The Congregational Transformation Model established by UBA leadership team categorizes the transformation process in three distinct areas (though the process is continuously revolving). It is not necessary designed to move from phase to phase. There is always a beginning and ending place, but continuous reflection and re-adjustment. The first phase is "Spiritual and Relational Vitality" and it is the imperative stage of entry into change. The authors define "S and R" as, "the life giving power that faithful people experience together as they passionately pursue God's vision for their lives". The second phase is the 8 step "Change Process" and it is the core stage of developing a Vision for the church to accomplish the Mission of the Church. The third phase is the "Learning Disciplines" and these are general principles that are important to implement to the process, leadership, and individuals committed to change. Each of these concentric phrases are intensely integrated and built upon the previous and following steps. The model is adaptable to each organization.
As great as the book is, it is somewhat difficult to evaluate. The process developed by the UBA is remarkable and appears to incorporate the necessary attention-to-detail to all the major and minor steps required to transform. And though the process of change was developed by depraved humans, the authors recognize that the transformation is the result of the Spirit of God and faithfulness to the Mission of the Church as established by Jesus Christ.
The authors made it clear that this process is not a fast and easy. As well, they did not leave the duration of change in any ambiguous terms. The authors state that the process could take as long as five years. This allows for specific planning, goal development and realistic future positions to move toward.
The reviewer was personally impacted by the simplicity of the process for application to an individual or the corporate body. The authors continuously engrain the importance of the personal commitment to the process, which is reflected in the individual's relationship with God and the Church. It starts and ends in this relationship. Change and transformation is futile without this faithfulness.
A second impact of the book was the development of "mental models", specifically the seven major subsystems with a congregation. This awoke an entirely new perspective of reflection and evaluation of the church that the reviewer had never understood. Fond of systems thinking, this book fundamentally changed how a pastor (or anyone) should to view the "living Church and church."
The only comment I would state as a negative would be the areas of Vision development. The core of the book is built upon a solid and functional Vision statement. The reviewer does not feel as if enough white space was committed to developing the Vision statement. The authors described Mission, Vision, and Visionpath adequately, but more description and examples/illustrations should have been used to help the reader/congregation in understanding the structure of development for imperative Vision and Visionpath.
The book was read thoroughly, but the reviewer would have to re-read the book and toil through the workbook for a wholistic understanding and life integration.
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