Ministry Book Review

Over the last 20 years, small groups have become a trendy ministry within Evangelical churches to develop community. More recently, Emergent and house churches have laid claim to the formula for community, offering smaller, intimate, relational gatherings. All these ministry settings support the idea that closer, more intimate relationships equal more authentic relationships. The more authentic the relationship, the stronger the Christian community.

In The Search to Belong: Rethinking Intimacy, Community, and Small Groups, Joseph Myers looks to shatter these common views on relationships and Christian community. (more…)

While working on a project for seminary class, I have been reading a great deal about small group ministries. The first book many people recommended me was Creating Community: Five Keys to Building a Small Group Culture by Andy Stanley and Bill Willits. Created by two founders of North Point Community Church, this book provides helpful insights into how to implement a small group ministry. The book focuses on how to not just establish a small groups ministry, but how to create an attitude of connection and community within your church. Small groups are not just an addition to your church’s list of ministries, but rather integral to your church’s DNA. (more…)

Collapse of Distinction by Scott McKain is a helpful business strategy book with practical applications to ministry. McKain cites the recent trend in the business world to duplicate products between competitors, with only minor tweaks or price being the only difference between products. This “collapse of distinction” between products makes the consumer focus on only one difference: price.

McKain challenges the reader to revive the art of distinction between competing products. Distinction is the only way to get noticed these days, and true distinction helps promote innovation. Creating distinction is done by focusing on the four main qualities of distinction: Clarity, Creativity, Communication, and Customer-Experience Focus. Throughout the book, McKain challenges his audience to embrace these four qualities in order to create a truly innovative and distinct product. (more…)