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You See Bones, I See an Army: Changing the Way We Do Church
The statistics are sobering. Frustrated church members across Europe and North America are leaving their congregations. Why? Floyd McClung believes that God is realigning the church—that he wants to use people’s frustration to motivate them toward change.
The kind of change McClung envisions may surprise you. It involves a valley of dry bones ready for use—ready to become an army—but only after they are prophesied over. The dry bones are the poor, the rebellious, the marginalized of society, the young, the uneducated. They carry wounds, have been abused, suffer from AIDS, are widows and single parents. They are waiting for someone to believe in them, uphold them in community, and send them out in the service of God.
In this thought-provoking, timely book, McClung presents five principles of leadership, church, and mission sure to challenge all to become a radical community of Jesus followers:
• Simple church
• Courageous leadership
• Focused obedience
• Apostolic passion
• Disciple making
Floyd McClung is the international director of All Nations, an international leadership training and church-planting network. All Nations has partnered with local churches to send short-term and long-term church-planting teams to more than thirty countries and provides specialized leadership and discipleship schools.
"Insightful, practical, easy to read, and full of wisdom. Floyd McClung is once again on the front edge of where God is leading the church on mission. If you want to be in the flow of what God is doing next, you will join him."
Neil Cole, author of Organic Church, Search and Rescue, and Cultivating a Life for God
"This is a powerful book, a timely book, a necessary book, a book for this generation! In a world where too many churches have too 'often become more like a prison than a healing community,' McClung sees the church as it can be, should be, must be."
Dr. David Garrison, missionary author of Church Planting Movements
"US film director Woody Allen once said, 'Ninety percent of life is about showing up.' Ninety percent of church planting is about 'showing up'—being out and among a lost and hurting world where Jesus already is at home. In this book, Floyd challenges us to rethink all our highly developed strategies and recapture the apostolic heart of God. Without that heart, everything else is a clanging cymbal."
Jim Yost, missionary and church planter, Indonesia
"Floyd McClung speaks directly to the heart of what God is doing on the earth today. His words will challenge you not only to rethink methodology but also to ask the big question, 'Why do I do what I do?'"
Tony Fitzgerald
The kind of change McClung envisions may surprise you. It involves a valley of dry bones ready for use—ready to become an army—but only after they are prophesied over. The dry bones are the poor, the rebellious, the marginalized of society, the young, the uneducated. They carry wounds, have been abused, suffer from AIDS, are widows and single parents. They are waiting for someone to believe in them, uphold them in community, and send them out in the service of God.
In this thought-provoking, timely book, McClung presents five principles of leadership, church, and mission sure to challenge all to become a radical community of Jesus followers:
• Simple church
• Courageous leadership
• Focused obedience
• Apostolic passion
• Disciple making
Floyd McClung is the international director of All Nations, an international leadership training and church-planting network. All Nations has partnered with local churches to send short-term and long-term church-planting teams to more than thirty countries and provides specialized leadership and discipleship schools.
"Insightful, practical, easy to read, and full of wisdom. Floyd McClung is once again on the front edge of where God is leading the church on mission. If you want to be in the flow of what God is doing next, you will join him."
Neil Cole, author of Organic Church, Search and Rescue, and Cultivating a Life for God
"This is a powerful book, a timely book, a necessary book, a book for this generation! In a world where too many churches have too 'often become more like a prison than a healing community,' McClung sees the church as it can be, should be, must be."
Dr. David Garrison, missionary author of Church Planting Movements
"US film director Woody Allen once said, 'Ninety percent of life is about showing up.' Ninety percent of church planting is about 'showing up'—being out and among a lost and hurting world where Jesus already is at home. In this book, Floyd challenges us to rethink all our highly developed strategies and recapture the apostolic heart of God. Without that heart, everything else is a clanging cymbal."
Jim Yost, missionary and church planter, Indonesia
"Floyd McClung speaks directly to the heart of what God is doing on the earth today. His words will challenge you not only to rethink methodology but also to ask the big question, 'Why do I do what I do?'"
Tony Fitzgerald
225 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 7, 2007
16 people are currently reading
93 people want to read
About the author
Floyd McClung
46 books24 followersFloyd McClung Jr. is the senior pastor of a large, growing church in Kansas City, Missouri, and the international director of All Nations Family. He has lectured on more than 100 university campuses and traveled in more than 175 countries.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 15, 2025
It was a decent book. I really appreciated the simple practices the author laid out and didn't find much if anything I disagreed with. It was simple and could serve as a decent blueprint for how to run a healthy local simple church which is totally my style. The writing wasn't excellent, but it didn't have to be. It got the point across. I'd recommend it for folks already interested or involved in a simple church who are wanting to keep pressing into it.
March 4, 2018
Book starts well with explaining what simple church is. The second is less interesting end more of the same what others said before.
April 3, 2021
Quick read, lots of stories and personal anecdotes. You can skip over them to get to get to the good stuff.
December 14, 2022
This turned out to be spot on and challenging. Not an easy read for those needing a necessary change.
May 6, 2013
Floyd is a good writer, a great tactician in Christian work and a good man. And what he proposes has had significant impact on South Africa and other developing nations. But the Organic Church does not currently touch the heart of North Americans. There is much within me that wishes it would. But at this current time in NA church history, this is a book out of place.
October 10, 2016
Incredible and Inspiring!
God really spoke to me through the wise counsel and stirring challenge of this book! I highlighted passages just about every other page...the most I have done in a book in a very long time. A must-read for those wanting to see the church invigorated and for us to learn how to reach our world and disciple well.
God really spoke to me through the wise counsel and stirring challenge of this book! I highlighted passages just about every other page...the most I have done in a book in a very long time. A must-read for those wanting to see the church invigorated and for us to learn how to reach our world and disciple well.
April 13, 2010
An excellent book on other ways we can do Church and what is really important about Church!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews