Power Surge: Six Marks of Discipleship for a Changing Church [Paperback]

Michael W. Foss (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2000

A powerful plan to transform church members into impassioned disciples. Drawing on his experience at Prince of Peace, Foss makes the case for transforming congregations from a membership model to a discipleship model of church affiliation. The book begins with a careful analysis of recent patterns in church membership/demographics which argue for this paradigm shift. Subsequent chapters detail the unique leadership and organizational needs of a discipleship model; explore the building and maintaining of fundamental trust-in God and in His people-as the cornerstone of the model; and provide practical helps for assessing the present and strategies for moving into the future. Addressed to rostered and non-rostered professional and non-professional church leaders interested in transforming their churches into centers for discipleship and mission, Power Surge makes the case for a dynamic, functional model of church affiliation that moves away from a membership model centered on prerogatives of membership to a discipleship model centered on the notion of Christian vocation/calling. It proposes a grace-centered, rather than legalistic, model of discipleship and builds a bridge through transferable principles between congregational mission mindedness and the individual Christian's life of faith. This book utilizes assessment tools and practical helps so that congregations can make the transition between membership and discipleship paradigms, as it draws on the experience of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church as a case study illustrating the principles of a discipleship model of church affiliation.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

From the Introduction (pre-publication version):

“I don’t know how to minister anymore,” the senior pastor of a flagging mainline church lamented. “There was a time when faithfully preaching and teaching God’s word was enough. But no matter how much time I spend preparing and working to communicate the gospel, it just doesn’t seem to make any difference. And I know that I’m not alone, either. Most of my colleagues are just biding their time until they can retire.”

He looked down for a moment and then wearily continued, “It’s not that we don’t believe anymore, not even that we don’t care. It’s that we simply don’t know what to do and we’re tired—I’m tired—of beating my head against a brick wall.”

There is no denying it: ministry in the Protestant church at the beginning of the twenty-first century is difficult. A spirit of frustration and despair afflicts many of the church’s finest leaders. What once worked no longer appears effective, and many who are charged with the leadership of God’s people are at a loss as to what to do. Like a ship without a rudder, the church flounders in dangerous waters.

There is a vacuum of vision, of ideas and strategies with which to respond to the growing disparity between the life and ministry of the congregation and the real lives of people in our society. The connection between the faith of the church and the life of the people is strained to the breaking point, and harried pastors and lay leaders burn out at an alarming rate as they struggle to keep the church from losing all relevance in our postmodern world.

Christian leaders are looking for new, dynamic, and effective ways of being the church, ways that are faithful to the call of God and that will energize them and their ministries. Pastors and lay leaders are longing for a spiritual spark to ignite the passions of God’s people once again. This deep longing on the part of Christian leaders is accompanied by a growing sense of urgency, a growing sense that the time may be running out on American Protestantism.

Pastor and sociologist Bill Easum, noted lecturer and student of the Protestant church internationally, has said, “Most mainline and established churches are dying because they only try to take care of their members. Three out of four will close over the next 25–30 years. . . . Most mainline churches are already irrelevant to the needs of postmodern people.”

Others have suggested that one-third of the more than 325,000 Protestant congregations in the United States will close their doors within the next decade. And that is a conservative estimate!

Consider the following sobering statistics:
• 91 percent of all households in the United States own at least one Bible
• 80 percent of adults name the Bible as the most influential book in human history
• Yet only 38 percent of adults read the Bible in any given week
• Only 25 percent of adults volunteer to help a church during a typical week
• 96 percent of adults believe in God
• 93 percent believe in the virgin birth
• Yet 39 percent say Jesus did not have a physical resurrection
• 61 percent say that the Holy Spirit is not real
• 56 percent say a good person can earn his or her way into heaven
• And still 72 percent of those polled say that they are church members

What is going on here? How has it happened? And what can we do about it? Why is biblical illiteracy rampant among those who call themselves Christian? Why does the Christian message, the good news of the gospel, not seem to get through? Why are all the mainline Protestant churches losing more and more of their members? Is Christian faith no longer relevant? Is the church no longer effective in meeting the real needs of real people? These are questions that trouble the hearts and minds of all who love and serve the Lord of the church. They are questions I shall address in this book.

Models of Church Affiliation

The world has changed faster than the church, and now it is time for the church to catch up and learn to speak and act in ways that the world can understand. The Christian message remains as true and relevant today as it has ever been. The gospel of Jesus Christ still answers to the deep hopes and fears, the realities and dreams of men, women, and children in each and every walk of life. In a pick-and-choose, mix-and-match spiritual marketplace, staggering in its diversity and complexity, Christian faith, Christian spirituality is not reducible to just one among many religious commodities. Christian faith is not an accessory to life. Rather it is a coherent way of life, a way of being in the world. It is the task of the church to teach and support this way of life, this life of the spirit, for the sake of individuals and communities.

The methods and strategies that effectively served to teach and support the life of faith in the past now seem outworn and unable to address the critical issues of our time. The church seems increasingly powerless, and we who serve the church in this challenging time wrestle like Jacob with the angel, seeking a blessing, trying desperately to be and remain relevant, wondering where the needed power surge will come from.

About the Author

Michael W. Foss is the Senior Pastor of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Burnsville, Minnesota, a growing and innovative church that embodies the principles of discipleship outlined in the book.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 194 pages
• Publisher: Augsburg Fortress Publishers (July 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0800632648
• ISBN-13: 978-0800632649
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #74,270 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #22 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Protestantism > Lutheran

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At Long Last - Discipleship, September 24, 2001

By 

Gregory L. Borchert (Grapevine, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Power Surge: Six Marks of Discipleship for a Changing Church (Paperback)

It was especially meaningful to note that this book was written by a Lutheran pastor. Power Surge is nothing less than a down-to-earth primer on how to go about becoming the kind of church Jesus had in mind. As a lifelong Lutheran who has found it difficult to watch his denomination in continual decline, Mike Foss' book provides a heartfelt glimmer of hope. It may not be too late for the mainline Protestant churches after all.

Power Surge discusses the church's decline, describes where we've been and explains why the old church membership model was doomed to fall short. Based on the practical, successful pastoral and discipleship experiences of the author, Power Surge outlines a dynamic and Biblical discipleship paradigm for the church. The essential aspects of leadership are explained, and the marks of individual and corporate discipleship are revealed and supported.

Power Surge moves beyond the theoretical, focusing on how to implement this fundamental shift within the life of a congregation, including the challenges and pitfalls to be encountered along the way.

In addition to presenting a needed discipleship vision for the church, each chapter provides questions for prayerful reflection. Power Surge works to renew the discipleship of each individual reader as well as each congregation.

A must read for every church leader!

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book for all church "members", March 13, 2001

By 

Canoetripper - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Power Surge: Six Marks of Discipleship for a Changing Church (Paperback)

In a nutshell: Ever since the church received state sanction under the Emperor Constantine, Westerners became members largely because they were citizens in a Christian society. As Western civilization grew, so did the church. This membership mindset, according to Foss, is no longer viable in our post-Christian society. No longer does the church enjoy state, or even social sanction. And today, membership in organizations implies dues-paying for the purpose of receiving a benefit at best, and passivity at worst. Foss' answer is to replace our membership mindset with a discipleship mindset. While membership churches will lose steam in the decades ahead, discipleship churches will thrive. Foss then shares six marks he believes are central to discipleship.

This book is excellent because Foss puts clear words to the feelings that many of us have in our gut. I am using his book as the basis for a challenging Lenten sermon series in my congregation. My opening statement, "What if tomorrow we abolished the concept of membership at our church?" grabbed their attention and it has been held ever since. A large percentage of my congregation has purchased this book and is now reading it during our Lenten journey. I have received tons of positive feedback, and there is now a visible surge of passion for our congregation's future!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Strait to the Point, August 14, 2009

By 

Bernard Keely (St. Louis MO) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Power Surge: Six Marks of Discipleship for a Changing Church (Paperback)

This is a very insitefull book that discuses the realities of membership vs discipleship from all angles from the pulpit to the door! It not only raises the issues but it gives both logical and spiritual recomendations on how to address them. I feel blessed and relieved after reading this book.