Customer Reviews

Simply Strategic Stuff:: Help for Leaders Drowning in the Details of Running a Church

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Granger Community Church has become a model of health, growth, and innovation. In Simply Strategic Stuff you'll find 99 proven church administration principles, strategies, and ideas. The value of each chapter varies but I'm confident any pastor could find something that would be helpful. A sampling of some of the chapters include:

* Count the cost before hiring a family member
* Visit other churches and steal their stuff
* Never launch a ministry without a leader
* It's easier to hire than to fire
* You can't overcommunicate the vision

Obviously many of these ideas are conventional wisdom or self-evident but even though most are not novel they are good reminders. If your reading time is limited, you can still find time to read a chapter or two every day to help you stay administratively sharp.

Senior Pastors, Executive Pastors and others in Church Leadership will benefit from this practical, friendly guide to better church management and leadership. This isn't heavy reading and there is a certain "duh" factor in a lot of the advice, but it both challenges and affirms the reader. This is particularly a good book for a church that may be experiencing the "pains" of rapid growth, transition or renewed focus. It is really quite simple reading and not every chapter is for every person or every church situation. All in all, you'll find it well worth the price of the book if you take away only one idea (but you're sure to get more than one). Watch for some "pragmatism" in a few of the chapters...remember, the ends don't always justify the means.

When I hear the word "strategic" I think more of planning for future ministry. This book focuses on the administration of present ministry. The title issue aside, the content of this book is extremely helpful and practical for both lay and clergy leaders in the church. It can be read through from cover to cover, but its best use would be as a reference to consult in specific situations. The theology here is conservative, while the methodology is very progressive. I'm pleasantly surprised with this little volume!

While this book is written for church leaders--any business or nonprofit leader or manager will appreciate the idea-thon of very practical stuff.

With a foreword by John Maxwell and high fives from Andy Stanley and Joel Hunter, this book also gets my five-star rating. The makes-you-want-to-read-it format has 99 chapters, but just 208 total pages. I dare you to scan the chapter titles and then put the book away. It's impossible. Test-drive these chapters: 2) Good Leaders Let Good People Go, 3) Count the Cost Before Hiring a Family Member, 8) If Someone Hasn't Left Your Church Recently, Your Vision Is Probably Too Broad, 19) Staff Ahead of the Growth, 29) Disgruntled Secretaries Drain Dynamic Leaders, and 31) Send Your Bankers Audit Reports and Birthday Cards Every Year.

Chapter 33 is "Sack the No-Huddle Offense." I'm a zealot for the value of weekly staff meetings. Stevens and Morgan correctly point out, "It takes discipline to gather regularly because there's never a good time to pull away from doing ministry to talk about ministry. The fact is, however, these team gatherings will help focus your efforts and allow your ministry to bear more fruit. Additionally you'll have the chance to bring encouragement and accountability to others on your team."

With 99 topics, the authors add quick-reading color commentary to most of the 20 buckets in my book, Mastering The Management Buckets: 20 Critical Competencies for Leading Your Business or Non-profit. Simply Strategic Stuff is good stuff.

Very practical and helpful, I will pull it off my shelf often to review and glean insight. It is full of practical wisdom from practitioners who understand effective ministry. Highly recommended.

Simply Strategic Stuff is by far one of the BEST books in church administration. Tim and Tony are the leaders in providing nuggets of Truth (with a capital "T"!) for church leaders to effectively run a church. How do I know? I am the lead pastor of The Pointe, a United Methodist Congregation, located in Albany, Georgia. Our church began weekly services in March 2006 and has grown in 11 months to an average of over 620 in weekly attendance. Managing a church that has grown so quickly has been a HUGE challenge, but utilizing the principles taught in this book have made all the difference. In fact, our staff is required to read 10 chapters (they are one to two pages each) each week and share how they will use one principle taught in this book in their area of ministry. A must read for every lead pastor and leadership team member. Don't miss out on an AWESOME book!

I've read hundreds of management books for my business consulting practice, but few have had the practical approach as this little book. The ideas are focused on churches, of course, but many of them apply to any organization. And not only are the ideas useful, the book is just plain fun to read. I kept telling my wife, "Here, you have to listen to this one!"

Great book! This is one of the most helpful books I have ever read on church administration.