Direct Hit: Aiming Real Leaders at the Mission Field

by Paul D. Borden

Lead the kind of ministry you’ve always dreamed of…



Many congregations are declining due to an inward focus, and see their pastor as someone who should only minister to their needs. But pastors must anticipate a better future. Direct Hit offers hope to leaders of congregations that have lost their outward focus. By preparing for and leading systemic change, pastors can bring new life into the culture of a congregation, guiding it to answer God’s call to reach people with the good news.



Direct Hit offers practical explanations for how


Develop a vision and communicate a strategy for its implementation


Motivate a congregation to embrace the vision


Develop resources, ideas, and personnel to prepare for change


Embrace and implement change


Embed a new DNA into the life of a congregation





Systemic change occurs as a result of hard work, but the gain far outweighs the pain. Once change has occurred, a whole new world of opportunity opens up—a world in which you are privileged to equip, lead, and oversee a congregation that has joined God’s mission. Ready. Aim. Go for it!

"Church leaders need more than motivation and inspiration. In Direct Hit , Paul Borden explains how to change dysfunction to health and decline to growth."
Leith Anderson, Senior Pastor
Wooddale Church, Eden Prairie, MN

" Direct Hit gets to the heart of the matter. Pastors--it's about Christ and leadership. Congregation--it's about Christ's purpose and mission. There is plenty of interpretation and coaching here for both sides of the pastoral relationship, but above all there is urgency. It's time to stop dithering and get on with it."
Tom Bandy, President
Easum, Bandy, and Associates



Paul Borden, is Executive Minister of Growing Healthy Churches (formerly American Baptist Churches of the West) and is in demand nationally as a church consultant. Direct Hit is the second Abingdon publication by Borden, whose first book, Hit the Bullseye, has sold 11,000 copies.

Genres: Church, Leadership, Christianity

159 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2005

Reviews

[Jenny · Rating 1 out of 5]

The first time I read this book, I threw it across the room.
The second time I read this book, I first had to find it, and then I read over 80 pages. In a word, this book is snarky (which is not a word I associate with ministry.)

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

In its basic message, it is a good book, especially about taking time to prepare an organization for massive change before unrolling it. There is an assumption, however, that the organization can't want to change. A large portion of what is said points to the organization as the main reason change hasn't occurred. If the book didn't look so negatively at the organization, it would be significantly improved.

[James Collins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Return to a Christ-Centered Church
"Direct Hit" is a book written for pastors who have lost their focus. Borden makes a plea for men of God to get back to a vision for the church that is Christ-centered. I found the highlight of this book to be Borden's discussion of the life of the Apostle Peter. He reminds all of us that according to church history, Peter lost his life for feeding sheep. As God-called leaders, we too must be prepared to pay whatever cost the Lord asks of us.

[Steve Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides an in-depth examination of a strategy for turning around a dysfunctional, dying church. It doesn't sugar coat the issue. Turning dysfunctional churches around is hard, painful work. The author invites the reader to count the cost and then plunge into the work.

[Lewis Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

The "foreword" in this book (by Bishop William Willimon) is quite prophetic in regards to this book!

[Richard Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Direct Hit is straight forward and practical. It provides a workable and flexible structure for church renewal that is scriptural. It is also an infuriatingly convicting book.

[Dave Pettengill · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was honestly torn between 2 and 3 stars for this book. I think it offers some great challenges on pushing our churches to realize that we need to be on a mission. That we as a church cannot exist to just entertain ourselves but we must go out into the world and spread the good news of Jesus Christ. As a pastor I could see many steps that I could take to put the steps the book mentions into action but it may be hard for those who are not in paid full-time ministry to know where to start with this information. At times I felt the author lost sight of the fact that our battle is a spiritual battle and not necessarily against people. The book tends to go overboard with the war analogies and at times makes it seem like most people in your church will be out to get you if you make the necessary changes. I do understand his point in the fact that most people want to keep the status quo because it is what they know, it is easier, less risk, and they are already a part of the church so it is easier not to make changes to reach out to a hurting world because that can be very messy at times. Author Paul D. Borden does point out different life cycles of a church in the book and I am sure the farther away from health you get the harder it will be for a church to get to where it needs to be. I am reading this book as part of a consultation process our church is involved in so much of what was mentioned in the book made sense to me. However, I started looking at the book from the perspective if my church was not involved in this process and what would I take away from it? Honestly from that standpoint I believe much of the book would be pretty confusing as to how to go about this consultation process and what that might look like in my individual church. This is why I would say this book is o.k. not because it doesn't have very worthwhile stuff to share about healthy congregations but how this could be used in a non-consultation process group.

[Garland Vance · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would like to give Direct Hit 4 1/2 stars. Borden helps pastors and other ministry leaders understand the pre-work that goes into creating systemic change in congregations. He has a realistic view that most change efforts take 3-5 years in which the pastor and key leaders prepare the congregation for the change. Borden walks pastors through the communication pieces that need to be said, through the teams that need to be established and through the insights that consultants can give.

The only weakness of the book, in my opinion, is that Borden unpacks a 7 year plan for congregational change. This means that one would have to revisit his book very frequently to lay the foundation for change and ultimately implement it.

Despite this weakness, I believe this is an excellent book on leading change in congregations and other ministries.

[Cathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book for a Lay Servant course I am taking for the Methodist Church. It was not particularly well-written, nor easy to read, but had some suggestions that could be applied to a very small rural church.

The main ideas of this book are that 1. church transformation takes years of prayer and preparation, 2. there will be fallout in terms of loss of relationships, 3. this is what it means to be strong in your faith and willing to risk it all for Christ.

So, the message of the book resonated with me. The author just needs a good editor.

[Luke · Rating 3 out of 5]

An extremely challenging and nearly overwhelming book. There were some ideas I liked, but this author would completely change my church. Only the name would remain the same - perhaps! And I don't know that we need to completely change. I think we can tweak some things, but am not convinced at this point we need such dramatic change of everything, including the building.

[Corey · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the worst books on church leadership I've ever read. It basically encourages pastors to come in and take over a congregation with their own vision and not care who leaves because of it. The involvement of the congregation is relegated to support of the pastor. It was also a choppy, unorganized read with disjointed points, irrelevant illustrations, and even self-contradictions.

[Eilene · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not dislike it, but I belong to a church that recently went through the process described in this book. Because of that, I was reading "old news" and was a little bored. Others will find it more interesting, I'm sure. It is a useful and insightful book.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

The frustrating part of this book is that while it emphasizes the amount of time it takes for changes to come it simultaneously makes it seem like everything flows so easy as has large immediate results

[Nadine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't like violent images as metaphor but I do appreciate many points made about churches losing sight of mission and possibilities for reclaiming church's purpose.

[Daryl Watts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not for the general public, but this is a must read for denominational leaders and church consultants.

[Dale Critchley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book to read before implementing necessary change. It's a reminder to count the cost, because you'll always meet with more resistance than you expected.

[John Lipton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Excellent material to help lead churches to effectiveness in ministry.