Customer Reviews

New Kind of Church, A: Understanding Models of Ministry for the 21st Century

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

 

 

Overall I am disappointed with this book. In the first chapter Malphurs with broad strokes began painting a picture of the local church changing radically with the 21st century. He had my attention, with me hoping for some kind of new insight into how to address those changes. Instead, by chapter 3 he fell into a comparison of newer model churches such as Saddleback or Willow Creek to traditional model congregations. Throughout most of this volume, the author summarizes what has been said by other church growth authors, or what he has said in his other books. The best chapters of this book are chapters 1, 2 and 7. Chapter 1 identifies the changing church, and chapter 2 gives insight into why churches are changing. Chapter 7 addresses the vital nature of the local church, and what it is and isn't. With all the emphasis today on small Bible study groups and para-church movements, the authors' thoughts here are worth the price of the book.

This title is worth the money due to presence of the three chapters mentioned. It isn't worth the time to read it in its entirety, especially if you have read other works by Malphurs.

I have always been an Aubrey Malphurs fan - respecting his depth, scholarship, and purposeful approach to helping churches flourish. This book is a timely, fair, and insightful addition to the dialogue about emerging church trends - both within the church and in the communities and populations those churches are serving. Before taking a dogmatic position based on limited information, I encourage every Christian leader to read this book. It is sure to facilitate a more balanced and productive conversation among pastors and leaders, and will serve to help churches find the future direction and mission-clarity they so desperately need.

Aubrey Malphurs has numerous works about the church and congregational leadership on the market. I remember reading his book on planting churches which was excellent. This book is a needed wake up call to churches across America. He has some superb discussion on culture. He highlights the pervading influence that culture has on congregations. Culture is neither moral or immoral. Culture is. Also, there is good conversation on the need to change to reach the culture around us. There is too much resistance to change in too many congregations. A congregation must be evangelistic and willing to reach out to new people. The problem is that us church people dislike people who have little background in church operations. The little markers within a congregation are not understood by those outside of the church. This book help a lot of leadership within the church. Not all of it we would agree with, but some of it is excellent. It disliked the focus on the mega-church movement. The author seemed to like this style of operations for congregations, I see a better method than a willow creek style of church. Overall the book will be informative and helpful, especially in the beginning chapters.

I am in the process of considering new church models and this book was very helpful. Dr. Malphurs does an excellent job of providing working theologies of important factors such as change, culture and church. The book is loaded with scripture to back up his insights. He also provides the evidence necessary to understand why churches need to change. After reading the book, I bought a copy for all of our staff and church leadership. Before you dive into change, read this book and check out other resources by Dr. Malphurs.

In recent years, numerous confusing new church models have arrived. What are these new models, and are they any good? Aubrey Malphurs addresses issues like these in this book. Some churches are changing for the better, but many churches in North America and other parts of the West are changing for the worse. Churches that are declining need to change, but they also need to avoid falling into error.

Malphurs encourages us to interpret the relevant Biblical passages, develop a theology of change, and develop a theology of culture. He then goes on to provide a framework within which we can evaluate the different church models through a Biblical lens, then provides a strategic approach to developing a new church model. There is no single correct church model; every church, whether traditional or contemporary, reflects a unique church model.

I found the book helpful in the way it addressed a variety of different church innovations; however I think it was addressed on the whole to readers from relatively traditional church backgrounds, and it is therefore less likely to be helpful for those who have been keeping up with the latest church trends. I recommend this book to anyone whose relatively traditional church is struggling with the need to reinvent itself.

Malphurs is thorough in his accomplishing his purpose. He doesn't have to try hard to make the point that churches need to have healthy change. Most church leaders and staff members are already aware of the existing problem. However, they need help to understand how to fix the issue. Most of the chapters are well divided and straightforward in their intent. The subheadings and points contained within each chapter aide in the comprehension. This helps because there is a large amount of information discussed in each part. Also, at the end of the chapters, discussion questions help the reader internalize the content. The questions are well written and not just added as filler.

I believe that the principles and definitions presented in this book are foundational to understanding the local church and it's relationship to its community.