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Thom S. RainerB&H Books / 2014 / HardcoverOur Price$5.494.6 out of 5 stars for Autopsy of a Deceased Church: 12 Ways to Keep Yours Alive. View reviews of this product. 72 Reviews
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Mike4 Stars Out Of 5Good ThoughtsJanuary 5, 2015MikeQuality: 4Value: 4Meets Expectations: 5Don't pay attention to Bob's review (the guy that gave one star). The author did NOT say a church died just because it didn't have contemporary music. The author was talking about a man that couldn't move on when so many things changed around him within the church. The author used music as a TINY part of the example in the overall point the author was making. He was making the point that people complain when things change because they act like the church should remain static and never change. The ACTUAL point was that we can get too focused on staying the same instead of focusing on Christ and having the willingness to look past changes in the church and see what is really important.
Also, obviously this author will put his own views on each church situation about what caused the decline. I didn't read anything I thought was off by much if at all. In fact, he describes my church situation nearly perfectly. Also remember that not all churches suffer the same issues so when he says one guy had an unwillingness to change worship styles he is NOT arguing that newer worship styles are better but it was the unwillingness that was the problem. A great read and I would recommend it to any one in leadership. Glean from it and assess how well it applies to your situation. -
David GoughAlexandria, VAAge: 55-65Gender: male4 Stars Out Of 5Assessing the condition of an unhealthy churchJuly 5, 2014David GoughAlexandria, VAAge: 55-65Gender: maleQuality: 4Value: 3Meets Expectations: 5So often death comes quickly and unexpectedly. That doesn't mean that there were no indicators or "warning signs." In most cases there were, but they were ignored. Thom Rainer has applied this analogy to local churches in his tiny book, "Autopsy of a Deceased Church." Its 102 pages are well worth being read and discussed by leaders who may suspect that their church is on life support. In a study of fourteen congregations that died, the author has identified a number of precipitating causes, some of which overlap. The chapters are short--perhaps too short for meaningful evaluation--but they provide a great start for a church which suspects it is on the decline to begin taking a serious look at its mission and methods. Are they still in keeping with Kingdom purposes? Are they willing to change--sometimes radically--in order to stay alive? Rainer offers short prayers and brief questions for further thought at the end of every chapter. He classifies unhealthy churches along a scale of "symptoms of sickness--very sick--dying." He concludes by making a passionate plea for churches, where death seems to be an inevitability, to "die with dignity." Although overpriced, this book is a helpful tool for churches in the process of taking an honest look at their present effectiveness in fulfilling the Gospel-mandate.
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Suzie Woods4 Stars Out Of 5Thought ProvokingNovember 1, 2014Suzie WoodsQuality: 4Value: 5Meets Expectations: 4This book would prove insightful to people who have always been in the same church, community, or even job. We need to see our situations with fresh eyes, retaining the fruitful functions of an organization and being willing to change those things that have kept us in a rut. (a grave with both ends kicked out) If the fire has gone out of a church or ministry it likely isn't because people are teaching/preaching an alive Word of God and trusting the leadership of Holy Spirt. Many times the comfort zone or pleasing people has become the focus for the life of the organization rather than furtherance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. While not every church or ministry will have the same challenges, the examples shared in this book will promote thought provoking investigation of the direction their entity is going.
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D-Min4 Stars Out Of 5Good TitleSeptember 4, 2014D-MinQuality: 5Value: 5Meets Expectations: 5Reading this book was like deja vu all over again! In a church I have experienced all that he wrote about. And many would rather die than change. I had one person say to me, "As long as the church is here when I die, that's all I care about. Whatever happens after that, I'm not interested!" With thinking like that, no wonder so many cases are terminal! I got this book for a Building, Mission and Vision Team to review and make comments....and see if they recognize something familiar in there. We are in the process of building a new church and have had countless delays over the last 9 years, including the death of a pastor to cancer. We are presently stepping up things to finish up the project and make the dream a reality. It still goes back to the old saying...."Physician, heal thyself!" The "book" in this case is still being written!
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malee4 Stars Out Of 5Thought provokingApril 14, 2015maleeQuality: 0Value: 0Meets Expectations: 0We purchased several copies for our Church Council to read. We are now sharing it with the congregation. I think all of our members should read this book. Some people don't see the struggles that others of us see everyday. I hope we can get some discussions going on how we can heal our sick church--before it is too late! It is amazing to me how arguing about the pulpit, and paint colors, could be so destructive, but I've seen it with my own eyes.
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