Ready, Set, Grow!: 3 Conversations That Will Bring Lasting Growth to Your Church by Scott Wilson

by Scott Wilson

Excellent Book

Genres: Leadership

Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Reviews

[Jenna Lynn · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a required read by my small group. I didn't really like it. I get the premise of the book, but I understood it in the first chapter. No need to read the whole book.

[Jessie R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book that will challenge you to grow!

Loved reading about the growth journey that this pastoral staff was able to take. It's something special when you can read and feel like you were in the room. These individuals were able to go from being workers to equippers and from equippers to multipliers in three years. By growing themselves, developing leaders and teaching those leaders how to develop leaders their church was able to see a ton of growth. It is a story that will inspire you to go to the next level.

[Ryan Koenig · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would give this a 3.5 if I could. Good book, easy read. Great principles and leadership strategy. It’s just very anecdotal—at times interesting, but if you’re just looking to pull out good principles you could skip a lot of chapters.

[Kevin Sorensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wilson's Ready, Set, Grow: Three Conversations That Will Bring About Lasting Growth in Your Church is intriguing to me. First, I really don't need another book on leadership. Perhaps 1/20 of my 2,000+ volumes in my library concentrate on leadership, pastoral ministry, discipling and church leadership. Second, there were many moments where I kept thinking, 'Where have I heard this before?' Then it dawned on me: Robert Coleman's 'The Master Plan of Discipleship.' While not a duplication, many of the principles are articulated in Coleman's book. Third, because we've been in a two-year process of bringing about a culture of disciple-making disciples at Cornerstone EFC, I wanted to see what Wilson brought to the table.

Wilson discovered that his church, The Oaks Fellowship, in Dallas, Texas, was reaching highs but always coming back to about the same number of people: 650. His goal: 1,000. He had to devise or discover a method of getting him to that plateau. He did and this book is how it happened. It's a fascinating method of writing for what would seem to be an instructional 'How To' book. Wilson gives a narrative of how he discovered his methodology, how he brought it to his pastoral staff and how, over a three-year process, it got implemented. I liked this approach, simply because he was putting on display how it worked itself out in their church. Most, who want the quick, bold bullet points on how to do this or that might be a little frustrated with this approach, but I found it a better read.

I think there are some good principles laid out in Wilson's approach. His plan of 'Model, Mentor and Multiply' is fairly sound. I don't think he strays too far from what Coleman discussed in his book. A big difference is Coleman exegetes the texts of the gospel accounts while Wilson doesn't. Whether Coleman assumes the reader is familiar with the texts and didn't feel the need to 'go there' or he simply didn't want to lay out the texts in this fashion, I'm not sure. He gives no indication of intent here. Being a firm believer in exposition, I found this left the book wanting for me.

Here, in a nutshell are some of the methods Wilson employed:

He was intentional in his selection of potential leaders
He did not assume that his staff would buy in to his vision
He held people accountable after getting buy in
He followed up on how people were doing with his challenges
He set definite goals for growth: both personal and church-wide
He managed people well and adjusted where necessary
He dealt with conflict both fairly and quickly
I did have some concerns and questions to raise, however. My first concern with books like these is always: 'Why and where do you get a biblical mandate to set numerical goals for growth like this?' I know a pastor within my own denomination who thought pastors that claimed to be unconcerned with numbers 'stupid'. Well, color me stupid, but I'm really not all that concerned with numbers. Do I know how many attend our church? Yes. Do I think about the future numbers we might get? Partly, if it would mean we could plant another church or two in the area. Do I set goals for growth based upon numbers? No. Never. Absolutely not. I see no precedent in the Scriptures for it. So, whether it be in a vision statement our EFCA is working on at present or whether it be at Wilson's church, these things are troubling for that reason.

The principle of multiplication is one I think is missing in far too many of our churches, EFCA or otherwise. I really liked this stress in seeking a means to multiply people and leaders. My concern (and you knew there was going to be one, didn't you) is this: I think, if I recall correctly, there was only one place where the author even mentions any thought of evangelism in this process. Otherwise, the whole process deals with modeling, mentoring and multiplying leaders within the church. Ephesians 4.12ff is the basis for this: 'to equip the saints for the work of ministry.' Great. Good foundational passage for this. At the same time, I couldn't help but feel sorry for those that were 'mere workers.' In order to reach their goal of 1,000 (and that goal became too small after everything got rolling along), they needed to concentrate on the number of multipliers it would take to achieve that goal. Very little is said about how to get the 'mere workers' (the other approximately 750 or so parishioners of the church) to be involved in the process somewhere along the line.
I don't know exactly what the leadership organization looks like at The Oaks Fellowship, but whenever the board is mentioned in this book, it seemed to be a group of people who existed separately from the paid staff, who ran the 'business' end of the church and gave the stamp of approval to matters the staff did. I may have this all wrong, but that's the impression I received from the book. One of the big questions this narrative left unanswered was this: 'Why weren't any of these board members involved in this process?' Were they not in leadership positions? Or are they just the governing board with several CEO/staff members over them? They seem to get informed of certain decisions/processes the staff makes, but they were neglected (on purpose, by sheer lapse of forethought, or by the organizational structure inherent in this church). This group needs to be the elders of the church who are the ones helping equip the saints for the work of ministry.

I think this book can be helpful, but I would want to read it with a group: of other pastors, of elders, or just with other wise, mature, grounded men in order to extricate the nuggets and skim off all the detritus. So, I recommend it…with some reservations.

[Mary Saou · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wilson's delivery is hard to swallow sometimes, but the underlying message is helpful: creating a culture in your church where you commit to growing, foster mentorships that spark the same growth, and develop those people into multipliers can make a ministry grow exponentially. We read this as a church staff, and I found many of the concepts helpful. It lacked inclusive language for women, and there were occasions where I would have appreciated further details, but overall it's a helpful resource for a church looking to grow.

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Life changing

If you sense the call to go deeper, or come up higher, this is the book for you to read. Let the journey begin.

[Grace Kadlec (Dahlager) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely LOVED this book! This is the perfect read if churches want to revamp how they do ministry and handle leaders in their congregation.

[Sandy Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would work in a healthy church in the middle of the states. Don’t know how realistic it would be where we live. But still got great ideas and hope we can implement some.

[James Iniba · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joel! God bless you!
Serious note. Very useful wisdom for anyone in ministry; whether you’re a volunteer leading a team, or over an entire church.

[Dr. Trent · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review, by Dr. Nicholson, has been provided courtesy of Desert Bible Institute (www.desertbibleinstitute.com).

Ready, Set, Grow is a thoughtful, well-structured book about how to not only to help increase the size of your church, but more importantly about how to create interconnectivity among your church leaders. The book has a number of strengths to it: its narrative style, the layout of the book, and the additional resources provided both in and after the book proper.

Too many books on leadership read either like and instruction manual on how to assemble your son’s new bicycle or like one of those endless, droning sermons that you keep checking your watch to see how much there is left. Scott Wilson largely avoids this problem by presenting information that he found useful in developing his church in a story format rather than a process paper or a moral lesson. One added benefit to this format is that it develops a sense of suspense. As readers get to know the people involved in Wilson’s 3-year journey, they want to know how the various trials and confrontations worked out. You find yourself cheering for the person that you connect with and frustrated with the one that just cannot get with the program. Another advantage to the narrative structure is that it made the reading of the text smooth. Rather than the start-and-stop feel that is common to type of book, Wilson is able to maintain coherence through his use of this alternative genre.

The structure to this book was also unique. While Wilson does maintain a narrative style, he frequently has recursive chapters where he goes back and looks at how certain events turned out or examines them from a different perspective. While this adds a strong element of clarity to his writing, it also made a few parts a little repetitive. This was not an overwhelming issue, but it could be a mild point of frustration for the reader. The upside to it was that the reader is extraordinarily clear on Wilson’s main points. Usually after one of these recursive chapters, he had a short input for one of his team members in which they offered their take on what Wilson had just talked about. After these short interludes, they offered a few reflective questions for readers to think about. These short breaks are refreshing and help refocus the reader on the topic at had while at the same time reviewing the previous couple of chapters.

Something this book has, that other less scholarly books often seem to leave out, is references to the books and materials that the team found useful. Wilson actually finishes the book not only with a list of first-rate materials but also a link to a website filled with information that could be used by a team wanting to use the model he purposes. While the book is good and offers a number of strategies and approaches that would be beneficial to any church wanting to improve their leadership, it is this list of resources and plans that will be most useful to the pastor that plans to move forward with this strategy.



Trent Nicholson, Ph.D., D.Min.

Desert Bible Institute, President



Dr. Nicholson reviews academic, Christian living, and fiction books for a variety of publishers in an array of formats. He is never paid for any of his reviews. He writes these strictly as a courtesy to his students at Desert bible Institute and for any other readers that might find his insights valuable. For more reviews or information, visit Dr. Nicholson’s blog at drtnicholson.wordpress.com.

[Yonasan Aryeh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book covers three basic conversations: "get ready," "get set," and "grow." In addition to the conversation points covered in the book, the author provides content to help as well, such as "lessons learned the first year," second year, and third year. Yes, that is right: the three conversations are intended to be a three year transformational process for a church. But given the conversations, it would be easy to understand why three years is needed:

Conversation 1: How to become models that others would want to follow.
Conversation 2: How to select the right people to invest in and equip them for service effectively.
Conversation 3: How to build a third generation of leaders and change the culture to make this a core value.

Thus, Wilson pours out his plan and experiences in his book on the subsequent pages. While looking into the book, this review is not going to be on the material presented. I am not a current church leader. I do not have a small group or attend any particular church regularly. So, in my current role, I do not feel I can adequately test and measure the concepts given in the book. Plus, that would be a review three years in the making. Instead, this review is focused on Wilson and his writing style.

Wilson writes in such a fashion that one can tell that he is an approachable Senior Pastor. He writes conversationally and openly, sharing details of his life with the intent of using them for examples in our own lives. He writes of his own experiences to help the reader come to the resolution that Wilson intends. His writing is explanatory as well, albeit at some times wordy. Overall, Wilson writes well and I would be intrigued by his other books. In fact, if his sermons are as engaging as his writing, maybe I should start telechurching (if that could be a new word, otherwise it is telecommuting to church).

Overall, check out the book if you are in church leadership. Or buy it for your pastor if your church has struggles with growth. I would like to see this part of the academic readings assigned for those learning about Church Administration in Seminary.

Disclosure: I was contracted to write an honest review in exchange for a reviewer copy of the product. The opinions stated in this review are solely my own.

[Reid Mccormick · Rating 2 out of 5]

What does it take to make things grow?

What does it take to make a church grow? What does it take to make a church grow strong and healthy?

Ready, Set, Grow by Scott Wilson is one story of how a pastor’s journey to take his church from good to great. I appreciate that Wilson looked for multiple resources to grow his church. I value his commitment towards professional excellence in his church. However, I could not shake a feeling of arrogance from Wilson.

As I read the book I simple continued to feel strange, until I finally realized that I would not want to be on his team. I am a big believer in being a constant student of leadership, management, and spiritual growth, but it seemed that Wilson was more interested in testing the commitment of his team instead of real growth. He seemed more interested in seeing his team accomplish the challenge than actually challenging his team to learn.

Perhaps someone stuck in a church-building rut will enjoy this book, but it wasn’t the one for me.

[Norma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ready, Set, Grow by Scott Wilson is one of the best books I have read on leadership! My greatest regret is that I did not read this book in my initial years of ministry. Without a doubt, Ready, Set, Grow would have changed the course in my first years of youth ministry. Pastor Wilson pens a reflective and well-structured book that provides fundamental leadership ingredients: 1.) Becoming models others would want to follow 2.) Choosing the correct people to pour our lives into and equipping them to serve efficiently 3.) Developing a generation of leaders, furthermore, shifting the culture so that building multipliers becomes a nucleus power. Ready, Set, Grow is a must-read book, highly recommended to those in leadership.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most critical topics that pastors face in developing leaders and growing a church and Scott Wilson's writing style makes this a very enjoyable read that all pastors should identify with. It is also very practical and even offers perspectives from other staff members as they collaborate a chapter in the book about their experience. I have difficulty finishing many books on leadership or church growth because the main points are covered in the first few chapters. However, Ready, Set, Grow kept me reading to the end to see how things turned out. I'd recommend to all pastors and lay leaders.

[Dr. Jason Frazier · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book as it was a blue-print for The Oaks success & showed how they challenged their staff to grow & then model leadership for their staff. I appreciated the candor Scott used when describing the roadblocks to success. I did find it off-putting that he called out his one detractor by name, required that person not to say anything negative about him or the church in his severance agreement, and then painted that employee in a negative light. Perhaps that person gave him permission to share the story. But Scott never expresses that there was reconciliation or permission to share conversations that would have been confidential. Other than that, I enjoyed the book.

[Rebekah Kowis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book on the need for a different kind of leadership in a growing church. Scott takes his staff through a 3 year journey from workers, to equipped and on to being multipliers. He gives us the details of his meetings, follow-ups, and failures. I highly recommend this book to help your staff understand that they can't just work harder to get results. they have to work differently.

[Ryne Isaac · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really interesting writing style as he uses their staff's experience to share wisdom in a "novel" like model. Great book about investing in leaders and how to practically do that in ministry.

[Justin Farley · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://justinfarley.blogspot.com/2014...

[Stephanie Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book on learning to move from being a worker to a mentor to a multiplier! Definitely challenged me, and am happy to say that I am on a path to becoming a mentor then a multiplier!

[Vic Munala · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite an easy, simple, direct, straight to the point and practical read. The story is beautiful, sounds like a movie which ends with everything being resolved but I guess this had to do with the intentionality of the whole process.

Have you ever been at a place where the best of strategy and intentionality and follow through still don't bear much result as you had hoped? Maybe that's the book I'd love to read.

Enjoyed it, some one or two things I might pick up and see how their application will turn out in my context.