Church Unique Provides Unique Tools

Will Mancini in his book, Church Unique, provides a unique look at how each church fits into God’s Kingdom purposes. In a time in which many seem to look for the newest bandwagon to hop on, Mancini calls us to find our unique calling as a congregation.

There are some really good things about this book: I appreciated Mancini’s recognition of our current reality. He begins by exploring the meaning of culture, especially as it relates to the church. He touches on the rise of postmodernism as well as the church’s love / hate relationship with the Church Growth Movement in a way that is helpful and informative. By the end of chapter four we have come to understand why it is that strategic planning seems to be of little help and why the infinite permutations of the newest church model will never allow us to be all God has called us to be. As the book continues, Mancini challenges churches to look to their heritage for clues as to what unique role the church may play in the Kingdom. He gives real life examples from his work as a consultant of churches which have chosen to narrow their focus in order to find that special “Kingdom Concept” which God has designed this congregation to fulfill. By the end of the book, Mancini has given us the tools we need to begin to “frame the future.”

However, there are some things you need to know before you pick up the book. First, there is a LOT of material. In fact, I found myself getting tired by the end of the book and wishing there was some sort of workbook where some of the many, many lists and charts could go and clean out the book somewhat. Secondly, the reality of moving churches through the process of finding their unique role may well be a painful one. While Mancini never minimizes that challenge, the book is really just a starting point for churches facing that process. And how that happens will, of course, be unique and can’t be totally explained in any book, no matter how good it might be.

Nick Howard [bsmsouth@earthlink.net]

+ Also see related post, "Will Mancini's Just Released CHURCH UNIQUE", in which Warren Bird wrote, "I predict Will Mancini's Church Unique (2008, 271 pages) will succeed Barna's classic as the go-to book for church leadership discussions because it does even more than help you articulate a vision for your church."

Comments

[Raymond E. Foster]

Thanks for the review.

[will mancini]

Thanks for sharing your comments on the book Nick. I particularly appreciate your last paragraph as it captures nicely the tensions I had in writing the book. In fact your title says everything when it says "tools." I think of Church Unique not as a book but as a toolbox.

Why? The book project presented the ultimate dilemma for me. My passion is guiding the actual Vision Pathway with church leaders and I know this can't be done from a book alone. In deciding to "over-pack" content, I wanted to create a toolbox for teams to use as an ongoing resource, discussion guide and point of reference. There is not a workbook yet, but there is a companion tool called The Vision Deck (visiondeck.com).

Will Mancini