Books @ Leadership Network

New book on megachurches

A most exciting new book has just been released, Beyond Megachurch Myths: What We Can Learn from America's Largest Churches. Authored by leading megachurch researchers Scott Thumma and our own Dave Travis (Managing Director of Leadership Network), the book debunks seven common myths, including that they:

• Are just too big to be good
• Are driven by personality cults and will fade away
• Are selfish and only concerned with their own needs
• Water down faith
• Are bad for the overall religious economy
• Serve people of the same race, class, and political views
• Grow because of the “worship show”

Beyond Megachurch Myths is filled with practical insights and suggestions for pastors and leaders of churches and ministries that can be applied no matter what their size.

The official website www.megachurchmyths.com has a link to the Beyond Megachurch Myths blog, free preview of chapter 1 (PDF), plus resources mentioned in the book and more.

books shaping new churches

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune newspaper in Florida recently featured The 360 Church in this article, 360 Church shuns having its own building in favor of service:

This new church and its minister do things differently. Pastor Steve McCoy's latest reading, "They Like Jesus But Not the Church," is a sure clue.

So, sack the structure?

Yes. And many of the traditional rules.

The 360 Church in Sarasota is divergent by design.

The article mentions these books as being influential for how they're doing church. (The 2 titles are published in partnership with Leadership Network are highlighted in bold.)

• They Like Jesus but Not the Church: Insights From Emerging Generations by Dan Kimball
• The Barbarian Way by Erwin Raphael McManus
• Organic Church by Neil Cole
• The Present Future: Six Tough Questions for the Church by Reggie McNeal
• Stand Against the Wind: Fuel for the Revolution of Your Soul also by Erwin McManus

Read the full article to see how they're doing church differently. Also see the related multimedia slide show and audio about The 360 Church.

Is Your Church Ready to Blog?

ReligionWriter.com recently posted a great review of The Blogging Church by Brian Bailey and Terry Storch. It's been good to see how more and more pastors and church leaders are recognizing the value of blogging, and this book is an excellent primer at getting past the technical hurdles and providing great practical how-tos. Here's an except:

The book provides much of the nuts-and-bolts how-tos offered in other general-audience blogging books, such as Bob Walsh’s Clear Blogging, but the authors constantly set the more technical information against a church background. For example, on the question of having more than one church blog, they write, “There is always a need for church-wide communication, but you eventually reach the point where people in the singles ministry might be uninterested in this summer’s junior high beach retreat.” ...

To find out how church blogging actually works on the ground, ReligionWriter emailed church-planter Ben Arment, pastor of Reston Community Church in Reston, Va., whom Bailey and Storch praised as an innovative church blogger.

Read the full article >>