Beyond the Ordinary: Ten Strengths of U.S. Congregations [Paperback]

Cynthia Woolever (Author), Deborah Bruce (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 5, 2004

Results from the U.S. Congregational Life Survey, the largest project of its type ever conducted in the United States, have prompted this second book from Westminster John Knox Press authors Cynthia Woolever and Deborah Bruce. Their original work, A Field Guide to U.S. Congregations: Who's Going Where and Why, explores the practices and activities of worshipers in more than 2,000 U.S. congregations, encompassing more than 300,000 worshipers across a representative sample of denominations and faith groups. This book describes the qualities that are evident in strong congregations and develops congregational applications from those findings. Like the first book, it is helpfully illustrated with charts, graphs, and cartoons.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Beyond the Ordinary offers a provocative and helpful look at the internal dynamics of U.S. congregational life..." -- Jackson Carroll, Duke University Divinity School

About the Author

Cynthia Woolever is Professor of Sociology of Religious Organizations at Hartford Seminary in Hartford, Connecticut. As a sociologist and consultant, she has over twenty years of experience working with congregations, judicatories, and seminaries. She is coauthor of A Field Guide to U.S. Congregations and Beyond the Ordinary: 10 Strengths of U.S. Congregations, both published by WJK.

Deborah Bruce is Associate Research Manager in the Research Services office of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). She has co-authored articles published in Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion and the Journal of Beliefs and Values.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press; 1 edition (January 5, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0664226930
• ISBN-13: 978-0664226930
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 7.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,170,885 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Survey Results, Positive Analysis, March 8, 2006

By 

Matthew Gunia (Justice, Illinois) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beyond the Ordinary: Ten Strengths of U.S. Congregations (Paperback)

Cynthia Woolever (of Hartford Seminary) and Deborah Bruce (of the Presbyterian Church-USA) present in "Beyond the Ordinary" the results of a major, nation-wide survey of congregations and church-members. The survey is unique in that it is intended to focus on the strengths of the various American congregations. To that end, ten strengths of American congregations are identified and explained, the inter-relationship between these strengths is explored, and the relationship (or lack thereof) between the particular strength and other variables (average age of the worshiper, size of the congregation, etc.) is explored. Each of the ten strengths is separately analyzed in its own chapter and the book includes an introductory chapter, concluding chapter, and several appendixes. The ten identified strengths include:

1. Growing Spiritually
2. Meaningful Worship
3. Participating in the Congregation
4. Having a Sense of Belonging
5. Caring for Children and Youth
6. Focusing on the Community
7. Sharing Faith
8. Welcoming New People
9. Empowering Leadership
10. Looking to the Future

After examining each individual strength, Woolever and Bruce placed a special focus on the congregations who were in the top 20% of this strength to examine what the remaining 80% of congregations can learn from them.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I appreciated the focus on the positives and subsequent optimistic approach to the narrative. Speaking of the narrative, the writing style was easy and flowing, interspersed with charts, graphs, shaded boxes exploring "myths," and even cartoons illustrating points. The fact that the authors did address myths was appreciated by this reader as myths often become "quick fix" solutions ("if we'd only change our worship style...") that have little basis in reality. Also appreciated was the interrelationship between the various strengths.

The book does however leave me wondering about certain things. One problematic aspect is the methodology employed. Many of the questions appeared to be subjective in nature ("do you feel your spiritual needs are being met in your church"). While the authors did attempt to craft a question that tried to run the gamut from the large liturgical church to the small charismatic church, there are many avenues to "meet spiritual needs" that would have been helpful to me-quality of music, various aspects of preaching, length of worship service, etc. Furthermore, the manner in which the survey results were presented tended to confuse me. If a church that is strong in community involvement tends to lose members, why is it considered a strong-point? Why is it that congregations that place a strong emphasis on faith-sharing and evangelism tend to be shrinking congregations? Finally (and probably purposefully), few "answers" were provided in this book concerning the identification of a particular congregation's strengths and how best to capitalize on said strengths. Overall, I would recommend this book and also suggest the reading of "Surprising Insights from the Unchruced" by Thom Rainer to compliment "Beyond the Ordinary."