Behold, I Do a New Thing: Transforming Communities of Faith [Paperback]

C. Kirk Hadaway (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Pilgrim Press (September 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0829814302
• ISBN-13: 978-0829814309
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #263,822 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book I've read on Transformational Ministry, November 15, 2007

By 

Kristian E. Johnson (Inglewood, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Behold, I Do a New Thing: Transforming Communities of Faith (Paperback)

Is your church struggling? Then read this book.
C. Kirk Hadaway is an intelligient and faithful Christian who has studied churches for over 20 years. He correctly points out that most congregations in decline hope to change their fate by calling a "new, dynamic" pastor. He argues this is the wrong place to start. Instead, he urges congregations to ask FIRST the questions "What is the church?" and "What business are we in?"
It is only when a congregation discovers/rediscovers the identity and the purpose that God has given them, that they can be transformed, and transforming. This book is not naive, nor does it offer quick fixes. What is does provide is practical advice as to how a church can become an incarnational community, versus being merely a club, company, or a group of followers. Great book, very thought provoking.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Helpful, especially the analysis of "goal displacement", August 12, 2006

By 

William Pinches "PC(USA) Pastor" (Mason, MI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Behold, I Do a New Thing: Transforming Communities of Faith (Paperback)

Hadaway is one of a number of people working towards renewal of the mainline denominations. In the first chapter he identifies the problem of goal displacement -- "a process by which the primary mission of an organization is replaced by operative goals that have little, if anything, to do with the organization's original reason for being." Hadaway suggests that this has happened in our churches: "Many churches which began as life-saving clubs for their community slowly become more like clans, gangs, or social clubs through goal displacement. They forget why they exist and what they are for." He calls for radical transformation. "Churches should ask themselves, 'What business are we in?' And once they (re)discover their business, they should stick to it." The rest of the book is devoted to offering tools, models, and suggestions for how to reclaim a transformational vision in the local church.