Customer Reviews

The ABF Book

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I read the ABF Book several years ago it helped me shape my vision and direction for my ministry as an Adult Ministries Pastor. The ABF philosophy is about building midsize communities that kind of look like adult "youth groups". Attempting to take this philosophy to another level I started a website entitled, abfresources.com where churches submit ideas on building ABFs. It also offers some other materials in written and audio formats on building ABFs. It even offers an ABF Confererence for further training. Hundreds of churches use some form of the Adult Bible Fellowship model today. Many thanks to Knute Larson for his vision for building community in the Church.

I would love to see a revised version someday. Until then, this book will help you discover how to implement a model that will work in the Sunday School hour that will:
1. help your people connect with each other,
2. provide the challenging biblical content they need to grow
3. and provide the needed care to make sure people don't slip through the cracks.

In my occasionally humble opinion, this is definitely not the best written book you'll every read. BUT it's worth the work to get to the principles inside. Another reviewer recommended the Connecting Church. By all means, buy and read it. It is a great book. BUT that author's purpose only overlaps a little with the ABF philosophy. If you are not already familiar with the model, the ABF Book will give you the tools you need to challenge, connect and care for your people.

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We read this book a few years ago when we were part of starting an ABF at our church. It is a great model and I wish more churches followed this model of an adult class. We wanted a copy of our own to flip through.

I was assigned to read this book for a seminary class. If if wasn't an assigned text, I definitely wouldn't have finished it. Mr. Larson has a legitimate point to make: mid-sized gatherings can provide important things in the life of a large church. However, he presented his case through a series of circular and disjointed arguments that ultimately made no sense. He would make an extremely definitive statement, but fail to provide support to his cause.

For instance, he insisted throughout the book that ABFs provide things that small groups cannot provide, but he failed to explain the point. He also insisted that ABFs are dramatically different from traditional Sunday school classes, but he again failed to explain the point.

If you are interested in reading a thoughtful defense of mid-sized gatherings in the modern church, read Randy Frazee's "The Connecting Church."

I know Pastor Knute Larson. I used to attend his church, The Chapel, for many years while living in Akron Ohio. All I can say I was severely persecuted while attending there. I'm sure Mr. Larson wrote many good things in his book but in actuality those same ABF's he's so fond of did their very best to send me the message I was not welcome there. Either at the ABF's I was attending (Doug Clark was the Pastor of the one I was attending) or at The Chapel.

All I can say The Chapel is not the place for poor people. I caters to the well-to-do and affluent. I was not welcome there all the years I attended. Afterall I did "lowly" work. I was no "professional" like most of the members/attendees of The Chapel.

Perhaps one may gleam some good things out of Knute Larson's book. But his church tells a completely different story indeed.