Make or Break Your Church in 365 Days: A Daily Guide to Leading Effective Change

by Paul D. Borden

Clear plans for the daily tasks of effectively leading a congregation.

Genres: Leadership, Theology, Church

218 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2012

Reviews

[Casey Taylor]

If you're a pastor who wants to lead a congregation to fruitfully make disciples of Jesus Christ, you must read this book. More than mere tips and guesses about how to mobilize churches to reach new people, Borden provides an idealized week for such pastors. It's a busy, hard-working week but strategic in use of time.

These are not guesses. Borden speaks from his experience of coaching pastors and church planters to effectively grow disciple making congregation. Highly recommended.

[Ian Caveny]

There is nothing for me to say other than: If you are a pastor, you need to read this book. Stop reading those big theology works or those little small group prep books, you'll have time for them later. Read this one.

[Mike McKenzie]

This is a great book that gives a lot of information for the pastor. It is put out there that the schedule provided isn’t a concrete thing, but we must adjust it to fit our specific ministries. There is some tough stuff in here, but leading congregational change isn’t for the faint at heart.

[Keith Broyles]

While pastors should work hard, of that I have no argument, in this book Bordon pushes pastors to a six day, 10+ hour per day work week as a standard week. There is also nothing in the book regarding funerals, weddings (including rehearsals), denominational responsibilities and more. When those are included with the standard work week, the pastor is probably looking closer to 70 to 80 hours per week. Additionally, one night for committee and board meetings is probably not realistic in a church where there is only one pastor. I found little useful in this book.

[Garland Vance]

Borden walks through the ideal week for a church planter or pastor who is leading systematic change. He gives tremendous insights on how one should structure their week in order to be most effective in this type of ministry. Although I do not fit the description of either of those groups, I found the book helpful just for thinking through what an ideal week should look like.

[Michelle]

Borden presents practical advice for church leadership, especially new pastors or those in new settings. However, at times his advice, and specifically scheduling of the day, does not take into account different personality types as pastors, which is a bit disappointing.

[Kris Browning]

One of the best practical books I've ever read. Straight and to the point, written by a man of experience (though not exactly a poet).