9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the Best Church Organizational Books I've Read, May 1, 2008
This review is from: Winning On Purpose: How To Organize Congregations to Succeed in Their Mission (Convergence Ebook Series) (Paperback)
I now rank "Winning on Purpose" among the top 10 books on church organizational life that I've read. The foundational premise is that Christians are to make disciples of Jesus. The way a local church organizes for ministry can hinder or assist in that mission.
Kaiser dares to suggest that pastors, church boards, and the membership of the church are to be accountable for the mission. Accountability does not restrict or lay guilt on these persons, but in proper relationship to one another frees them to lead and serve in ways that will give them every opportunity to fulfill their God-given mission.
The author does a good job of describing the limitations of how many traditional churches are organized. He is even better at defining and describing Accountable Discipleship through an organizational structure that can be adapted to a variety of traditions. It may well be the limitations of publishing did not allow him to go into more detail about how to move from a traditional, ineffective organizational model to the effective model he promotes. I would benefit from more suggestions about how to lead a church (as quickly as possible) from the former to the latter.
Nevertheless, "winning on Purpose" should be taught in seminaries and continuing education seminars. It should not just on the book shelf of any pastor or church leader, but in their hands and a matter of urgent prayer and discussion in churches that have a desire to grow -- and a willingness to do what it takes to make disciples.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Missing References, June 26, 2007
This review is from: Winning On Purpose: How To Organize Congregations to Succeed in Their Mission (Convergence Ebook Series) (Paperback)
I love the book in and of itself. It is very clear and concise as to both theory and process for pursuing the Accountable Leadership process.
My one bug with the book is that there is little in the way of any Biblical study and underpinning to this. I find that too bad because it is a good organizational model that can be demonstrated from Biblical principles. It would have been immensely helpful to have more on that end.
That does not diminish my rating since what the book proposes to do it does very well. I highly recommend this book to church leadership both staff and lay leaders.
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7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Winning on Purpose means that Jesus is going to win!, December 6, 2007
This review is from: Winning On Purpose: How To Organize Congregations to Succeed in Their Mission (Convergence Ebook Series) (Paperback)
In Winning on Purpose, I found a pretty decent strategy to coach and nurture a church along the path toward God's vision for the church as recorded in Revelation 7--a multitude from all nations and tribes and peoples and languages gathered in worship.
Lyle Schaller says, "Leadership is figuring out what needs to be done and then doing it." This book will help pastors who want to pursue a multiracial future but aren't sure how to get there.
Kaiser begins with an argument for accountable leadership. The book moves through formative missional verses, including the Olivet Discourse, which ground the missional church in the justice and mercy of God. Throughout the book, Kaiser uses soccer as a metaphor for accountable leadership. The book is worth a read for this analogy, if nothing else. It gives a very relevant backdrop to the idea of winning on purpose; here's a little taste: "Plays exist for wins, not the other way around. The purpose of a play is to score. If a team does not score goals, it makes no difference how well or how cleverly they are able to execute plays. By not scoring a goal, the team has ultimately failed" (p. 58).
The book is organized around four key questions.
* Do we really want to win?
* Do we understand the game?
* Do we know what position to play?
* Do we have the right equipment?
The tools section of this book is chock full of real tips and tools for real leaders; there is even a guide to develop accountability assessments. For instance, Kaiser says a board that meets more than once each quarter will be tempted to manage rather than govern. I believe it was George Bullard, writing for the Alban Institute, who first articulated that pastors are there to lead, boards are there to govern, and staffs are there to manage. Kaiser gives real, implementable flesh to the bones that Bullard provided through his research.
I did find Kaiser's definition of diversity a little challenging. "For starters, a team is a community of servants who share the same mission and vision (unity) and are responsible for different roles (diversity) in fulfilling it" (p. 83). It's interesting to see a non-ethnic, non-cultural use of the word "diversity." On the other hand, it is another reminder of George Yancey's thought that "the multiracial church is not an ends to a mean," but rather a container to unleash the reconciling work of God here on earth.
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