Church Unique: How Missional Leaders Cast Vision, Capture Culture, and Create Movement (Jossey-Bass Leadership Network Series) [Hardcover]

Will Mancini (Author), Max Lucando (Foreword)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0787996831 | ISBN-13: 978-0787996833 | Publication Date: March 21, 2008 | Edition: 1

Written by church consultant Will Manciniѡn expert on a new kind of visioning process to help churches develop a stunningly unique model of ministry that leads to redemptive movement. He guides churches away from an internal focus to emphasize participation in their community and surrounding culture. In this important book, Mancini offers an approach for rethinking what it means to lead with clarity as a visionary. Mancini explains that each church has a culture that reflects its particular values, thoughts, attitudes, and actions and shows how church leaders can unlock their church's individual DNA and unleash their congregation's one-of-a-kind potential.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"[Mancini] gives a compelling rationale for the church to move on and accompanies this rationale with instructive support and church-wide challenge. All mission boards and vestries would benefit from the materials contained therein."
—The Rev. Jeffrey A. Mackey, The Living Church magazine (Sept. 2008)

Mancini (founder, Auxano consulting group) believes that all churches need not be megachurches like Willowcreek (IL) or Saddleback (CA). Here, he avoids a mere discussion of churches worthy of emulation and further crosses denominational lines, having himself worked alongside Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, and others. Mancini eschews the title consultant , preferring instead vision navigator . In short, he helps leaders focus on their own unique cultures and congregational fingerprints. Once churches grasp that they are one of a kind-much like galaxies, fossils, DNA, and sandbanks-they can then, Mancini writes, unleash their full potential. The book, complete with an appendix as well as logos and icons illustrating various churches' visionary thinking, is strengthened by numerous flow charts, diagrams, graphics, and pithy quotes. It has the potential to unseat Rick Warren's The Purpose-Driven Church  in popularity. Yet academic libraries may want to pass on this title for its admitted lack of supporting empirical evidence. Public libraries, on the other hand, would be wise to purchase a copy. With a foreword by inspirational giant Max Lucado.
—C. Brian Smith, Arlington Heights Memorial Lib., IL (Library Journal, May 1, 2008)

From the Inside Flap

Church Unique

Church Unique offers church leaders a way to transform their leadership and vision with missional effectiveness.

Church Unique is written by church consultant Will Mancini—an expert on a new kind of visioning process to help churches develop a stunningly unique model of ministry that leads to redemptive movement. He guides churches away from an internal focus to emphasize participation in their community and surrounding culture. In this important book, Mancini offers an approach for rethinking what it means to lead with clarity as a visionary. Mancini explains that each church has a culture that reflects its particular values, thoughts, attitudes, and actions, and shows how church leaders can unlock their church's individual DNA and unleash their congregation's one-of-a-kind potential.

Mancini explores the pitfalls churches often fall into in their attempt to grow, such as adding more programs, using outdated forms of strategic planning, or adopting the latest conference technique. He explores a new model for vision casting and church growth that has been tested with leaders in all kinds of congregations, including mainline, evangelical, small, and large. The practices and ideas outlined in Church Unique will help leaders develop missional teams, articulate unique strategies, unpack the baggage of institutionalism, and live fully into their vision.

Whether leading a megachurch or church plant, a multisite or mainline, a ministry or parachurch, Church Unique will provide inspiration as a practical guide for leading into the future. There is a better way.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1 edition (March 21, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787996831
• ISBN-13: 978-0787996833
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #48,601 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #52 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Evangelism > Missions & Missionary Work

More About the Author

Will Mancini is a clarity evangelist who is passionate about every church having stunningly unique vision. As the founder of Auxano, he has navigated hundreds of church teams through growth barriers. From the 200 barrier of a missional church plant to the 5000 barrier of notable megachurch pastors like Max Lucado, Will thrives on serving the diverse expressions of the church. As a pastor, Will has served two churches that grew past 3000 in less than ten years, Clear Creek Community Church and Faithbridge UMC in the Houston area. He is the author of Church Unique and Building Leaders. In addition to working with churches across the country, Will consults for church related ministries such as Leadership Network and Upward Unlimited.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Will Mancini's Just-Released CHURCH UNIQUE, April 2, 2008

By 

Warren Bird - See all my reviews

This review is from: Church Unique: How Missional Leaders Cast Vision, Capture Culture, and Create Movement (Jossey-Bass Leadership Network Series) (Hardcover)

It's rare to visit a church, read its mission statement and then conclude, "What a great match!" For that to happen, the church's vision must be clear, appealing, and most important, truly reflective of the unique culture demonstrated by the church.

Back in 1992, when churches were just beginning to think about vision statements, George Barna wrote a highly popular book called Power of Vision. In it he defined vision as "a clear mental image of a preferable future imparted by God."

I predict Will Mancini's Church Unique (2008, 271 pages) will succeed Barna's classic as the go-to book for church leadership discussions because it does even more than help you articulate a vision for your church. It goes further. It helps you "cast vision, capture culture, and create movement," as the subtitle forecasts. The book affirms that your church is "stunningly unique," and then helps you turn your church's one-of-a-kind potential into a model of ministry that leads to a redemptive movement. It understand that each church models a culture reflective of its particular values, thoughts, attitudes and actions. Using numerous specific-church examples, it walks you through the process of vision focus and alignment within the context of your church's unique culture.

Mancini, a former pastor and now church consultant, also explores pitfalls that often trap churches, such as adopting the latest conference technique or following a Band-aid approach to addressing deep-set issues.

CHURCH UNIQUE will benefit any type of church leader, whether megachurch or church plant, mainline or non-denominational.

The book is release #25 in Leadership Network's series with Jossey-Bass. It references in several places another excellent Leadership Network book -- Culture Shift: Transforming Your Church from the Inside Out (J-B Leadership Network Series)by Robert Lewis and Wayne Cordeiro with Warren Bird (Jossey-Bass, 2005).

Warren Bird, Ph.D., is Research Director at Leadership Network, and co-author of 19 books on various aspects of church health and innovation.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good ideas but falls into trap of own warning, June 11, 2009

By 

T. Moon (Puebla, Mexico) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Church Unique: How Missional Leaders Cast Vision, Capture Culture, and Create Movement (Jossey-Bass Leadership Network Series) (Hardcover)

I was excited to start reading "Church Unique" because it echoed so many thoughts and feelings that I have had over the last 10 years - that is finding out what your church does best and being at home with that instead of another frustrated wannabe. Mancini also promises clarity and simplicity - which is always a good thing for me. I'm thinking as I'm reading, "Four sides of a picture frame: Great, I can handle this and I think I can communicate it" - and he had me for the first half of the book. Then, suddenly, I see clarity and simplicity waving goodbye from the platform as I was taken deeper and deeper into the piney woods of circles, arrows, steps, triangles, charts, bullet points and, of course, the obligatory mission/vision/values/goals/strategy explanations. Still, there are so many nuggets in the book I had to give it three stars.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "Must-Have" Resource!, April 24, 2008

By 

Mark C. Howell (Chicagoland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Church Unique: How Missional Leaders Cast Vision, Capture Culture, and Create Movement (Jossey-Bass Leadership Network Series) (Hardcover)

If you are trying to lead your church to effectiveness and impact, Church Unique: How Missional Leaders Cast Vision, Capture Culture, and Create Movement (J-B Leadership Network Series) by Will Mancini is a "must-have" resource! Like very few books of its kind, this one is not only packed with ideas, it is presented in a clear and purposeful manner with implementation in mind.

Based on Mancini's work with Auxano, Church Unique provides a carefully executed, step-by-step walk through the concepts and practices that build a "vision frame." Discovering and articulating a compelling vision is at the heart, but developing the missional mandate (mission), motives (values), map (strategy) and marks (measures) are what provide the frame. Each step in the process is presented in a way that begs to be implemented.

If you long for clarity and a laser focus, this is a book you will devour, mark up, and wear out. I'm frequently asked what's the best thing I'm reading. Church Unique is a book I'll be talking about for a long time.