Ministry127 | Book Reviews

How to Make Your Church Hum

Stephen Benefield — Fri, 25 May 2012 16:20:26 +0000

I recently read a great little book. It isn’t exactly a book that is “hot off the press.” How To Make Your Church Hum was written in 1977, and it came into my possession the same way most of my books do—via a used bookstore. A few years ago I saw this book for sale, and its title caught my attention. It was written by a Southern Baptist pastor named Paul Powell. The book is short (just 92 pages), very readable, and includes lots of great advice. You can see the simplicity of his writing style as well as the direction of the book by simply scanning the chapter titles:

1. Major on the Basics
2. Pray Much
3. Build Spirit
4. Wake Up the Worship
5. Preach the Word
6. Give Dynamic Leadership
7. Plan Ahead
8. Work Hard
9. Involve the People
10. Major on Outreach
11. Minister to People
12. Shape Up the Plant
13. Advertise Well
14. Cut Excess Meetings
15. Develop Good Stewards

All of the chapters were good, but there were several chapters that really stood out to me because of a great illustration or profound quote. Here are three of my favorite chapters and why I like them:

Chapter 1: Major on the Basics

In this chapter Powell uses a powerful illustration about the great football coach, Knute Rockne. He claims that Rockne never had a secret practice. He didn’t mind at all if scouts from their opponents came and watched his Notre Dame team practice. In fact, once when an Army scout missed his train to watch Rockne’s team play and take notes for their meeting later in the season, Rockne mailed him the plays that he planned to use against West Point. He said, “It isn’t the play that wins, it’s the execution.” Powell then goes on to say the following:

“All great coaches agree. Champions are made by majoring on the fundamentals: blocking and tackling. They execute well. A team may win a game here and there by a trick play or a gimmick, but they won’t be a consistent winner that way.

Great churches are built the same way—by majoring on the basics. The spiritual fundamentals for the church are prayer, visitation, and Bible teaching….

If you build a church on the basics—visitation, prayer, and Bible study—and you do the basics well, there is no limit to how long you can stay and how strong the church can become. My conclusion is this: The secret is not in the play, but in the performance. You don’t build an exciting, spiritual, growing church on some newfangled idea that no one ever thought of before. You build it on the basics.”

Chapter 2: Pray Much

In this chapter Powell urges the reader to recognize the absolute necessity of prayer in the church. He uses an illustration to demonstrate the uselessness of being organized but lacking the Holy Spirit’s power. Powell does not discount the value of organization, but rather he says,

“Organization alone is never enough. A cemetery is the most highly organized place in the world. Nobody ever gets out of place there. But a cemetery is also the deadest place in the world.”

Chapter 14: Cut Excess Meetings

In this chapter Powell makes the case that some churches have way too many things going on which ultimately wears down the people. He talks about Mary and Martha, and presents a compelling case for evaluating the purpose behind the various activities and meetings in your church. He says:

“We all fall victim to the Martha mania. We get so involved in the many things that we neglect the one thing—our relationship and fellowship with the Lord. We become like the proverbial river—a mile wide and an inch deep. We’re spread out but there’s no depth to our lives.”

In the midst of this chapter, I came across one of the most thought-provoking questions I have ever heard: “What’s the use of putting more irons in the fire if the fire is going out?” As a guy who is constantly taking on new responsibilities and starting new projects, this was a very timely question for me to consider.

Used copies of this book are available on Amazon, and no doubt other places as well. I would recommend this book for any pastor who desires his church to reach its full potential and be all that it can be for Christ. I am sure that any pastor, no matter the size of his church or his length of time in the ministry, would be encouraged and challenged by this short book.

Ten Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health

Cary Schmidt — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 15:02:18 +0000

I just completed reading one of the most practical, helpful, well-written books about the Christian life that I’ve ever read. I wanted to share it with you.

Coming out of my cancer struggle, the Lord allowed my path to cross the book entitled Ten Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health by Donald S. Whitney. It was timely, because I desired to step back and assess my life before the Lord, before I just resumed my “pre-cancer” mentality. I wanted to emerge from the cancer struggle with a deeper walk with the Lord, having grown in His grace through the trial. I desire for the trial to have a permanent spiritual impact on my heart and life.

This book was fantastic! It was one of those books that made me want to highlight every single paragraph! Every page was intensely scriptural, very articulate, and powerfully inspiring regarding the healthy Christian life. Here are the things that I appreciated about this book:

1. It was unquestionably biblical. The author did a great job of supporting his “health diagnosis” from Scripture.

2. It was incredibly practical. Every chapter brought me back to a baseline aspect of authentic Christian living.

3. It was very inspiring. This book made me love the Lord more, love living for Him more, and long for greater spiritual maturity.

4. It was comprehensive. The author got it right! There weren’t any glaring omissions of scriptural directives.

5. It was encouraging. Every page of this book lifted my heart and reminded me why I’m so thankful that I’m a Christian.

6. It was well written. Mr. Whitney has an easy to read, enjoyable style of writing that isn’t trivial by any stretch! His writing runs deep and challenges both the heart and the intellect.

If you’re looking for a book that will encourage you and spur you on to greater spiritual maturity, you should definitely read Ten Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health.

Amusing Ourselves to Death

Kurt Skelly — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 01:47:41 +0000

Neil Postman certainly knew what he was talking about. Although he passed away several years ago, his ideas are as relevant today (and even more so with the advent of the internet) than they were when he penned his words a quarter of a century ago. A well-credentialed expert on the subject of communication in its sundry shapes and subtleties, Postman takes aim on the “dumbing down” effect that television has had upon society. In fact, the visual medium of TV has caused its watchers to unwittingly place style over substance, entertainment over education, and theatrics over thinking.

Artfully (and with a refreshing historic approach) Postman details the danger of uncontextualized information. Americans tend to want information now in spite of its relevance or accuracy—a trend which began quite interestingly with the invention of the telegraph. You’ll have to read the book to follow the logical timeline. And I promise that it will fascinate you.

The author is not an anti-television crusader; rather, he seeks to educate his readers as to the true nature of television (entertainment) and its appropriate place in our lives as an amusing diversion. Sadly, the invasion of television with its encroachment into the lives of virtually all Americans has left our people in a sad state of affairs indeed. In fact, the book brought to mind an observation Richard Nixon once made in his book entitled Leaders. In that book he asserted that leaders are always readers, and that reading is active while television watching is passive.

The book is not for the faint of heart, but it is a “must read” for those who think (or are willing to start!).

This article was originally published at www.kurtskelly.com.

Nothing to Win But the World

Stephen Benefield — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 21:42:40 +0000

There is no shortage today of books on missions, and I have certainly read my share. Aside from individual missionary biographies, there are three books that I have read in recent years which stand out in my mind as some of the most challenging books I have ever read. One of them is Nothing to Win But the World.

Nothing to Win But the World was written by Clay Cooper in 1965. Mr. Cooper was the founder of a non-profit fundraising group for missions called Vision, Inc. This book has a very distinctive flavor because of the era in which it was written. Two major issues from the 1960’s are heavily referenced throughout the book: The Space Race and The Cold War. Mr. Cooper correctly concluded that Communism was not only an enemy to the political systems of the free world, but that it was also an enemy to Christianity. Consequently, although the topic of this book is the spreading of the Gospel, he made multiple references to the evils of Communism.

While the book is not overly political in nature, there are definitely some fascinating political overtones, particularly in the foreword and the preface. The foreword was a very strong call for all Christians to rededicate themselves to the spreading of the Gospel, and it was written by then-governor of the State of Oregon, Mark Hatfield!

Even more interesting is the preface of the book which is an excerpt from the United States Congressional Record of the 86th Congress. On February 11th, 1959, Walt Horan, apparently a state representative, read an article by Clay Cooper in his speech before the House of Representatives. The title of the article by Clay Cooper was “Missions or Missiles—This World or the Moon.” In his article, Mr. Cooper suggested that perhaps the Communists were getting the U.S. sidetracked with a race for the moon while the Communists’ ultimate goal was to win the world. Here are a few excerpts from his article (and remember—this was read on the floor of the United States House of Representatives a mere 50 years ago).

“Bear in mind it is not something we shoot from earth into the Heavens that is going to save the world. Rather it is that Someone who came down from Heaven to earth one starlit night in the long ago.”

“As a symbol of hope, the fiery launching pad pales in comparison with Bethlehem’s manger.”

“It is cause for amazement to many thinking people that a nominally Christian society should frantically compete with avowed atheists in the moon-race. Let the Reds be first to reach unknown worlds. Let the known world with its known peoples and their known problems be our first concern. Why bankrupt the nation so as to plant the Stars and Stripes on the pock-marked Sea of Tranquility? The Blood-Stained Banner has yet to be lifted over more than half of terra firma!”

“Shall we major in missiles and minor in missions? Shall we invest trillions for one and trifles for the other? Shall we put a man on the moon or a missionary in Martinique? Shall we waken, too late, and realize that while we were trying to gain the moon we lost the earth?”

And that’s just the preface! Now you see why he entitled the book, Nothing to Win But the World.

I love the author’s idea for the main text of the book. There are 27 chapters in the book. Does that number ring a bell? It is the number of books in the New Testament. Every chapter of this book is a truth about world-wide evangelization based upon a verse from a different book in the New Testament.

For example:

Chapter 1 is drawn from Matthew 25:25 (“And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth...”) and makes the case that fear hinders the spreading of the Gospel more than any other single thing.

Chapter 2 is based on Mark 6:7 (“And he called unto him the twelve and began to send them forth...”). This chapter presents a very strong argument that too many men have let women lead the way in the cause of missions, when it is actually men whom God has always used to advance the Gospel.

In Chapter 3 he compares the sending forth of the disciples to the launching of a rocket, taking his text from Luke 24:49 (“...but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.”)

Chapter after chapter he follows this same pattern of pulling out one verse or passage from each subsequent book of the New Testament and using that verse to challenge the reader to do more for the cause of Christ. He covers every major topic related to missions including racial prejudice, financing missions, the importance of prayer, only one way to Heaven, what a world without Christ would be like, the chain-reaction of missions, missions logistics, love, and many other topics.

While the illustrations used in this book are largely outdated, the truths contained therein certainly are not. Any Christian would benefit greatly from reading this book. Unfortunately it is out of print, but there are some used copies available on various websites. Get it. Read it. It will light a fire in your soul.

This article was originally posted on The Missionary Memo.

The Soul-Winner’s Handy Guide

Dr. Rick Martin — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 00:47:59 +0000

The Soul-Winner’s Handy Guide by Pastor Yan Wee of the Shalom Baptist Church in Singapore, is a book that would help any Christian become a better soulwinner and is especially helpful in training new soulwinners.

The book teaches three ways to present the Gospel: a textual presentation where the Gospel is presented verse by verse, a pictorial presentation where a soulwinner uses Scripture along with pictures, and a colored presentation which is much like the “wordless book” where four colors are used to represent different parts of the plan of salvation.

Most of the handbook is about answering questions the soulwinner will be asked. The answers to these questions are clearly presented for easy use, and helpful illustrations are given to simplify the message to the unsaved.

The book is outlined in a way that makes it easy to use in teaching or preaching. It helps those interested in winning souls by boosting their confidence in the things they have learned.

This book has been reprinted several times, and has already sold 15,000 copies through Chick Publications. Written by an independent Baptist pastor, the book is being used by some Bible colleges in the U.S. We are using it here in our personal evangelism classes. The section on Roman Catholicism has been helpful as we are in a predominantly Roman Catholic country.

Recently a number of Pastors and Bible college students here in the Philippines were able to receive copies of The Soul-Winner’s Handy Guide. Some of these Christian workers began to share what a blessing this book was and how it helps them in leading people to the Lord Jesus Christ. I cannot remember a book that a group of workers were more excited about than this one.

Here are some of the comments made by pastors and Christian workers I know:

“This book encourages me to win more souls.”

“I’ve learned a lot—how to answer peoples’ questions, and now I have confidence to lead more souls to the Lord.”

“I really like the book because I’ve learned a lot about soulwinning and the end times.”

“I like the illustrations. They are very good.”

“The presentations are simple and easy for people to understand.”

“This book has made me a better soul winner.”

“I use the material in my preaching and teaching. It has great outlines.”

“It is very good for Sunday school.”

“The information on Roman Catholicism is very helpful.”

Fourth Quarter

Dr. Paul Chappell — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 17:50:44 +0000

Some of the most fruitful members of any church are those who are in their “fourth quarter” of life. With the advantages of time and experience, they are uniquely qualified to enrich the ministries of the local church and invest their lives in others.

But many people in this age group struggle to understand their value and the significance of this season in their lives. Far too many Christians begin a downhill slide of disconnect and disengagement once they pass retirement.

Fourth Quarter: How to Finish Your Course with Joy is good news for any Christian seeking to make the last years of their life count for the Lord. In this book, Dr. Don Sisk reminds readers that just as the final minutes of a sports game are often the most crucial, so the final years of life can hold the greatest points of victory.

Nearing eighty years of age himself, Dr. Sisk shares in these pages the values and principles that have made the recent years of his life rich and fruitful—some of the most significant years of his life and ministry. Written with humor and insight, this minibook challenges readers to remain faithfully engaged in the work God has called them to do.

This book would make a great gift for Grandparents’ Day—as a single gift to your grandparents or for churches to give to all grandparents present. (Please contact Striving Together Publications for information on quantity discounts for churches.) I believe this book will encourage many to finish their course with joy and great fruitfulness! Click here for more information or to purchase a copy.

Developing the Leaders Around You

Joshua Teis — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 23:47:43 +0000

In Developing the Leaders Around You, we see that the test of leadership is not how many followers do I have, but how many leaders am I developing. If we as ministers are able to effectively take those who are following us and develop them to become leaders in the church, we have effectively multiplied our ministry. This is the key message of Developing the Leaders Around You.

One of the elements in developing leaders is to recognize the value people are to you and to the organization that God has given you. In seeing the intrinsic value of each and every one of those followers, we are able to see clearly as Jesus did with His twelve disciples. Hence, when we are off the scene, our influence continues for many years to come through those that we have built into leaders.

This book helped me in a great way as I was preparing to begin a new ministry called the Lay Shepherd Ministry of Southern Hills Baptist Church. This ministry was designed as an opportunity for me to develop other leaders in the church. The Lay Shepherd’s job description is to assist the Pastor in his shepherding responsibilities. Every year I take these men away on a retreat and train them on shepherding and caring for the flock through phone calls, letters, personal dinners, and discipleship. These are former followers of our church who are developing into leaders who will lead others into a closer relationship with Jesus Christ.

This book has immensely impacted my personal ministry with those men and women in my church. My focus has changed from obtaining more and more followers to developing the leaders that are around me. I highly recommend this book to anyone in full-time Christian work.

Surprising Insights from the Unchurched

Joshua Teis — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 01:31:45 +0000

Surprising Insights from the Unchurched by Thom Rainer is a book that surveys those that Rainer refers to as the formerly unchurched. As opposed to many of Barnes research studies that merely survey those that are unchurched, Rainer goes further to find those who were unchurched and why they have chosen to get involved in church, and what influences helped them to make these important decisions. In doing so, we do not hear the warped perspective of a rebel who is running away from God and trying to influence the church into becoming what the carnal man wants, but rather the perspective of an individual who has been changed by Christ and is now serving Him faithfully, and what it was that brought him to this point.

I found this book extremely helpful in supporting my personal conviction of the importance of preaching doctrine, pastoral leadership, and clear vision. Rainer speaks much about the importance of clear, sound Bible doctrine being preached from the pulpit. To water down the message, to sporadically place a Bible verse here and there in the midst of a monologue is not what the soul is craving. What changes the life of an individual is solid Bible preaching.

Rainer also makes it very clear that pastoral leadership is important; that a person is drawn to a church many times because of the leadership of the pastor. This book has helped me tremendously in understanding my biblical role as the leader of Southern Hills Baptist Church.

Rainer concludes by speaking of the importance of expressing a simple vision to our congregation; that we love our people enough to share with them the vision God has given us as their minister. Surprising Insights from the Unchurched allowed me to see those who had been formerly unsaved express their views on what helped them make the decisions that we long to see them make. Frankly, I believe many evangelicals who will be more surprised by the results of the survey than those in independent Baptist circles. For too long many have chosen to steer away from strong pastoral leadership, doctrinal preaching, and simplifying the vision of evangelism and discipleship. I thank God that He has allowed me to be involved with a movement that has clearly taught these principles from its very foundation. I highly recommend this book.

God’s Bestseller

Andrew O’Neal — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 16:14:01 +0000

I highly recommend this book for every pastor and Christian. It will help the reader to gain a better understanding of important events and figures in Church history and to gain an appreciation for the sacrifices made to ensure that we could have God’s Word available in the English language. The book includes the sub-title of “William Tyndale, Thomas More, and the Writing of the English Bible—A Story of Martyrdom and Betrayal.” As the sub-title suggests, this book is not only a biography about Tyndale, it also provides detailed information on Thomas More and other leaders in the Catholic Church who thought it their divine duty to silence the life and work of Tyndale.

Tyndale was consumed with a passion to get the Scriptures printed in English and distributed to everyone who wanted a copy of God’s Word in their own tongue. In one famous exchange with a learned man who was defending the authority of the pope, Tyndale as a young man replied, “If God spare my life, ‘ere many years I will cause a boy that driveth the plough shall know more of the Scripture than thou dost.” Tyndale would go on to sacrificially give his life and personal finances to this monumental task.

The book also examines the profound impact that the invention of the printing press played in helping to make the Scriptures more available in English. Certainly it was Providential timing to have a man of Tyndale’s qualifications arise at the time of the invention of this world-changing technology.

This book instills a profound respect for the courageous stand that Tyndale, and others like him, took against the Catholic Church by exposing the doctrinal errors and fallacies within the Catholic Church. In October of 1536, at the direction of the Catholic Church and the civil authorities in England, Tyndale was strangled and then burned at the stake as a heretic for his Bible translation work.

It is worth noting that the book begins with a powerful and informative preface entitled, On the Burning of Heretics, that provides the reader with the detailed account of the Catholic Church exhuming and burning the remains of John Wycliffe in 1428 (who had died 44 years earlier) as a sign of their contempt for those “heretics” who would dare to challenge the Catholic Church and translate the Scriptures into the common language of the English speaking people.

I know little about the personal faith or theology of the author, Brian Moynahan, but I am impressed with his detailed research and many of his pertinent insights in this important book. Pastors, this book is filled with incredible illustrations that you can use in preaching that will both underscore the importance of knowing Church history and provide very practical and relevant applications for today.

Training Your Children to Turn out Right

Gabriel Ruhl — Sat, 28 May 2011 20:21:38 +0000

This book has helped me so much. I have not only read it but have had the privilege of teaching through it. I appreciate the author’s honest, Biblical approach. I was greatly helped by the teaching on righteousness. We must teach our children to do right simply because it is right. So many current teachings on parenting promote an incentive program or an agreement approach to getting our children to obey. The author shows the Bible teaches that obedience should be done immediately simply because it is right.

I was greatly challenged by the teaching on God’s Word and how we must read it every day, day and night. I have always been taught to read my Bible every day, 365 days a year. I don’t believe I have ever been challenged to read it both in the morning and evening every day. David Sorenson teaches Joshua 1:8 and carefully explains the Biblical promise and guarantee that accompanies that command.

Susanah and I have such a desire to be the best parents we can be. I am always studying the subject of parenting. This book was helpful and practical and I would recommend it to any parent who truly wants their children to turn out right.