Renovation of the Church: What Happens When a Seeker Church Discovers Spiritual Formation
By Kent Carlson, Mike Lueken and Dallas Willard
4.5/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this ebook
Christianity Today Book Award winner
Leadership Journal Top Book of the Year
Copastors Kent Carlson and Mike Lueken tell the story of how God took their thriving, consumer-oriented church and transformed it into a modest congregation of unformed believers committed to the growth of the spirit--even when it meant a decline in numbers.
As Kent and Mike found out, a decade of major change is not easy on a church. Oak Hills Church, from the pastoral staff to the congregation, had to confront addiction to personal ambition, resist consumerism and reorient their lives around the teachings of Jesus. Their renewed focus on spiritual formation over numerical growth triggered major changes in the content of their sermons, the tenor of their worship services, and the reason for their outreach. They lost members.
But the health and spiritual depth of their church today is a testimony of God's transforming work and enduring faithfulness to the people he loves.
Honest and humble, this is Kent and Mike's story of a church they love, written to inspire and challenge other churches to let God rewrite their stories as well. Read it for the church you love.
Kent Carlson
Kent Carlson is vice president of leadership formation for the North American Baptist Conference, shepherding the spiritual formation of pastors, regional ministers, and Christian leaders throughout the conference. He is also pastor emeritus of Oak Hills Church of Folsom, California, which he founded in 1984. Kent is a graduate of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and lives with his family in the Sacramento, California, area.
Related to Renovation of the Church
Related ebooks
Reappearing Church: The Hope for Renewal in the Rise of Our Post-Christian Culture Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5AND: The Gathered and Scattered Church Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Real-Life Discipleship: Building Churches That Make Disciples Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The House Church Book: Rediscover the Dynamic, Organic, Relational, Viral Community Jesus Started Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Barefoot Church: Serving the Least in a Consumer Culture Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Externally Focused Quest: Becoming the Best Church for the Community Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRethinking Church: A Guide for the Perplexed and Disillusioned Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrom the Steeple to the Street: Innovating Mission and Ministry Through Fresh Expressions of Church Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDeep Roots, Wild Branches: Revitalizing the Church in the Blended Ecology Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDeep and Wild: Remissioning Your church from the Outside In Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Connecting Church 2.0: Beyond Small Groups to Authentic Community Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Leveling the Church: Multiplying Your Ministry by Giving It Away Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered: Growing in Christ through Community Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Multiplying Church: The New Math for Starting New Churches Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Shaping of Things to Come: Innovation and Mission for the 21st-Century Church Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Facing Leviathan: Leadership, Influence, and Creating in a Cultural Storm Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Positively Irritating: Embracing a Post-Christian World to Form a More Faithful and Innovative Church Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTransformational Groups: Creating a New Scorecard for Groups Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Band Meeting: Rediscovering Relational Discipleship in Transformational Community Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChurch Unique: How Missional Leaders Cast Vision, Capture Culture, and Create Movement Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mere Discipleship: Radical Christianity in a Rebellious World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Vertical Self: How Biblical Faith Can Help Us Discover Who We Are in An Age of Self Obsession Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5What Is the Church and Why Does It Exist? Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMarks of a Movement: What the Church Today Can Learn From the Wesleyan Revival Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Resilient Pastor: Leading Your Church in a Rapidly Changing World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Conversion and Discipleship: You Can't Have One without the Other Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGuardrails: Six Principles for a Multiplying Church Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Red Skies: 10 Essential Conversations Exploring our Future as the Church Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhen the Church Was a Family: Recapturing Jesus' Vision for Authentic Christian Community Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Intentional Churches: How Implementing an Operating System Clarifies Vision, Improves Decision-Making, and Stimulates Growth Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Christianity For You
The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Uninvited: Living Loved When You Feel Less Than, Left Out, and Lonely Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Your Brain's Not Broken: Strategies for Navigating Your Emotions and Life with ADHD Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Holy Bible (World English Bible, Easy Navigation) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of Enoch Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Winning the War in Your Mind: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Boundaries Updated and Expanded Edition: When to Say Yes, How to Say No To Take Control of Your Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bible Recap: A One-Year Guide to Reading and Understanding the Entire Bible Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies About Who You Are so You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Good Girl's Guide to Great Sex: Creating a Marriage That's Both Holy and Hot Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth: Fourth Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Don't Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table: It's Time to Win the Battle of Your Mind... Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mere Christianity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Screwtape Letters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Evidence That Demands a Verdict: Life-Changing Truth for a Skeptical World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Lead When You're Not in Charge: Leveraging Influence When You Lack Authority Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Boundaries Workbook: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Law of Connection: Lesson 10 from The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wild at Heart Expanded Edition: Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Changes That Heal: Four Practical Steps to a Happier, Healthier You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I'll Start Again Monday: Break the Cycle of Unhealthy Eating Habits with Lasting Spiritual Satisfaction Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Good Boundaries and Goodbyes: Loving Others Without Losing the Best of Who You Are Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for Renovation of the Church
7 ratings1 review
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This book presents the story of two pastors as they move themselves and their church from a seeker oriented ministry to a church focused on spiritual formation.At the level of an anecdotal account of these men and the church they serve undergoing a radical change, and of the difficulties it entails, the book works. The pastors are forthright and honest about what they have gone through, what they have taken their church through, and the various problems that have occurred as a result. The book doesn’t, however, go much deeper than that.The authors remark on a few occasions that the seeker style of church ministry is insufficient and represents a problem in the whole of the North American church (an assertion that overstates the importance of this particular type of evangelical church), but they offer no well-formed theology of the church in place of what they have held, even while making the case for something deeper.The book presents ideas that are still presented seeker service/church growth style and language, with the use of many hackneyed phrases. Variations on “changing the church’s DNA” and “casting a vision” get workouts. The authors still come from a typical upper middle class, evangelical perspective, speaking of week-long training sessions, weekend retreats, and so forth as a part of their new church programs.The most disconcerting thing about this book is the major theme of the work; two pastors who have been in ministry for years, coming to a rather sudden realization that the church should be more than seeker oriented services. It’s a bit like an English literature professor suddenly realizing that there is more to it than Harry Potter books, or a physician being struck by the idea that medicine entails more than encouraging regular exercise and multi-vitamins. There is very much the sense that these men are late to the table.I think Renovation of the Church is an only fair book that will have limited appeal, specifically to those who have been in the seeker service movement who desire something more substantive. Those who still find the seeker/church growth methods valid and robust will, I imagine, hate this book very much. People who are in churches with an already more fully fleshed-out ecclesiology will probably feel some measure of “better late than never”, and, of course, non-Christians won’t care much either way.