Rethinking the Church: A Challenge to Creative Redesign in an Age of Transition

by James Emery White

James Emery White focuses his attention on redesigning the contemporary church to correspond to the shape of society in a transitional age. The book will help you grapple with the deepest nature of the church in order to enhance its mission.

Genres: Church, Nonfiction, Christianity, Leadership, Ecclesiology, Discipleship

142 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1997

About the author

James Emery White is the founding and senior pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, North Carolina; president of Serious Times, a ministry that explores the intersection of faith and culture. Dr. White is an adjunctive professor of theology and culture at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, where he also served as their fourth president; and author of more than twenty books.

Reviews

[Brianna Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly this was a great book! It is not an enthralling read, but there are so many good things that we need to consider when thinking about reaching the unchurched and growth. We should want to bring more people into our congregation, showing them the love of Christ and encouraging them to give their lives to Him. It does not matter if it is uncomfortable, out of our comfort zone, or “different.” We cannot miss the point. We need to be a church community where people can love and be loved, know and be known, serve and be served, celebrate and be celebrated!
One of the many good quotes to think about…
“Change leaders must communicate the importance of those apart from Christ and the exact state of the church in current effectiveness at reaching them… people must be brought to the point of understanding that it would be a tragedy if change didn’t happen. They must not simply embrace change, but cry out for it.”

[Cyndee Ownbey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most churches aren't reaching the unchurched. While they may be growing statistically, it's often a product of church transfer or biological growth. If you're tired of the lack of true church outreach, this book offers insight and advice that could transform your church into one that is truly seeker-targeted. I wish every church leadership team would read this book and take a prayerful look in the mirror.

[Beth Melillo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book primarily because I thought it was about church structure - and though there is one chapter about that, the book is not about mainly about structure.

I was excited to see elements of business strategy and organizational development knowledge applied to a church setting. The church is an organization, and though it makes people leery to call it a business ( me too!) there are certainly elements of good business which shouldn't be ignored in the church. At the very least Church should attempt to avoid common pitfulls (like wishywashy mission statements or attempting to corporately be all-things-to-all-people).

In many respects the best thing about the book is it's broad overview of recent church direction (2000s), and an attempt to re-design it - this is a good book for people who didn't grow up in the church and may be confused about the ways long-time church goers understand and implement church. It can certainly help to bridge that gap. The book can also be used as a way for people who have become very attached to "but we've always done it this way" methods to re-think if their methods communicate what they want them too.

Overall a quick read, and a good introductions to the very broad elements of what "Church" is. Will the books and it's examples still be relevant in forty years? I hope there won't still be fights about "contemporary vs. traditional worship" in forty years... but we'll see. The idea that strategy and methods must fit with the zeitgeist of the times, while ultimate mission may not change much is probably timeless.

[Brandon Horst · Rating 4 out of 5]

James White in his book Rethinking the Church makes very good points assessing the modern church as unchanging and increasingly ineffective. I think most people, Christians and not, would agree that rethinking and changes need to take place. This challenge by White is timely and necessary if the church is going to remain effective like it has historically. I also know that almost assuredly by the time I have an opportunity to lead a church White's suggestions will already be outdated since culture is changing so rapidly. But It is not so much that White has presented anything new in his book, rather that he has opened my eyes to something I had never been looking for before. As a missions professor, Paul York, told my class often, “You don’t see the multitude of people groups on the streets around you simply because you are not looking for them.” In the same way, White’s challenge and the principles behind it to continually rethink the church in all areas of ministry, opened my eyes to what is already around me.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

READ FEB 2011

This is a good treatment of the classic five purposes of the church and focuses on how to rethink the methods for effective ministry.

Best quotes: "The most effective ministries in churches are those that are based on the knowledge of the needs and interests of the people a church is trying to minister to" (p. 71); "an excess of consensus, or an overenthusiasm for democratic principles, can render an organization impotent in terms of actually doing anything" (p. 100); and "Churches without a clear sense of purpose or mission don't often disband, but they do experience a breakdown in community" (p. 119).

[Ken · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book would have been very helpful to the church which was struggling with some of these issues a decade and a half ago. Much of the material he discusses in the book I am very familiar with.

Having said that, it is interesting to read a book about where the church needs to go 15 years ago and seeing what steps have been taken to accomplish that. We've done some but not all.

I would have recommended this book much more 15 years ago.

[John Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good if you are looking to transform a traditional church into a contemporary church. Otherwise, this book is probably going to be a lot of rehash for you and is probably not worth reading. A good clear communicator, but most of his illustrations come from illustration books.

[Kelly Stark · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book raises good questions concerning the mission of the church. The author can be a little dogmatic, presenting his solutions as THE solutions. But, overall, the questions he asks should be asked even if you arrive at different answers.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good practical book about rethinking the Church's leadership, worship, community, evangelism, etc.