Those who know me know I enjoy reading. Regardless of where I am there is usually a book nearby. Because of this, I am asked often, “What are you reading now?” I enjoy this question and am always happy to share and make recommendations. As I have mentioned in earlier posts, I do not set numerical reading goals. The climate of the church often guides my reading. I do however have a framework that further guides my reading. I run from fiction. Topics such as church health, church growth, leadership, missions, and church revitalization account for much of my reading. Why these? I have devoted my life to the local New Testament church and yearn to see her and her people grow and flourish. I generally read at least one missionary biography a year. I am always reading something from the Commandant of the Marine Corps’ Recommended Reading List – Once a Marine, Always a Marine. In addition to the academic reading I will do for sermon preparation and other Bible studies, listed below is my reading list for 2019 and what I hope to learn this year.
- Small Church Essentials; Field Tested Principles for Leading a Healthy Congregation of Under 250 by Karl Vaters. It is commonly known that approximately 85% of a Southern Baptist churches average 100 or less in morning worship attendance. We are a convention of small churches. The church I pastor, First Baptist Church of Perry, Florida is just below that threshold – about 180. I want to learn more about the unique challenges that are before the small church and how to better lead through those challenges.
- Church Growth Flywheel; 5 Practical Systems to Drive Growth at Your Church by Rich Birch. I have already started this book and I’m in love with it. Birch stresses the importance of capturing the big days on the calendar, the wisdom of sermon series, and the necessity of the church being seen in the public in service. I want to learn more about building and maintaining momentum throughout the year.
- PR Matters; A Survival Guide for Church Communicators by Justin Dean. If you don’t accurately tell people who you are and what you stand for as a church, people will formulate their own opinions and judgments about who you are – often incorrectly. I want to learn how to better tell the story of what FBCP stands and where we’re going.
- How to Break Growth Barriers; Revise Your Role, Release Your People, and Capture Overlooked Opportunities for Your Church by Carl F. George and Warren Bird. As churches grow, certain numerical markers introduce a new set of challenges, needs, and adjustments: barriers of 200, 400, 800, and 1000. This book deals with nuts and bolts stuff about moving from one barrier through another. I want to learn what may be keeping us around the 200 barrier and what adjustments must be made to push through.
- ReClaimed Church; How Churches Grow, Decline, and Experience Revitalization by Bill Henard. There is a strong movement today across Southern Baptist life to reclaim and revitalize dying churches. To be honest, FBCP is at a plateau state in terms of growth. Henard’s books offers a look into the life stages of church, why they die, and steps to becoming healthy once again. I want to learn where we as a church may be on what Henard describes as a, “death spiral” and actions to take to turn around.
- Leading Major Change in Your Ministry by Jeff Iorg. I firmly believe big changes will be necessary for not only FBCP to be more effective in our mission as a church and reaching people, but for the New Testament church in America as a whole. I want to learn how to set the stage for long-term growth and how to deal with the inevitable challenges and messy situations change is certain to bring.
- Be Known for Something; Reconnect With Community by Revitalizing Your Church’s Reputation by Mark MacDonald. I am excited about this book. Every church has a reputation; like it or not. Reputation and sometimes earned and sometimes they are assigned incorrectly. The forces that determine how the community sees the church are many. I am certain that FBCP has a similar reputation to many larger downtown First Baptist Churches: self-absorbed, business people only, a rich church. I know this is not the case, but perception and reputation is reality. This is such a burden for me that two of our leadership teams will be reading this book together this year. I want to better understand how we are viewed by our community and how to help them see who we really are.
- It Is Not Death to Die; A New Biography of Hudson Taylor by Jim Cromarty. Taylor was a 19th-century missionary to China. His life of surrender, hard work, sacrifice, and service are well-known today. I want to learn more about that kind of life.
- ReMission; Rethinking How Church Leaders Create Movement by Gary Comer. Here we are reintroduced to the mission of the church and the responsibility that every Christian has in seeing that mission fulfilled. Comer challenges church leaders to create positive and consistent movement toward the mission we have been given. I want to learn how to reinforce the importance of God’s people being outwardly mobilized and how to communicate that truth better.
- Neptune’s Inferno; The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal by James D. Hornfischer. This is my selection from the CMC Reading List. The Battle for Guadalcanal in 1942 had long been thought to be a Marine victory. Hornfischer’s work details the U.S. Navy’s contribution to what turned out to be the most pivotal naval campaign of the Pacific War during World War II. Like I said earlier, Once a Marine, Always a Marine.
If any of these titles interest you, I would enjoy the opportunity to read along with you and study together.
The Road Less Traveled 