- Hardcover: 208 pages
- Publisher: John Wiley & Sons (22 May 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0470259345
- ISBN-13: 978-0470259344
- Product Dimensions: 16.4 x 2.2 x 23.2 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,488,894 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
Whole Church
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
A new model for creating greater involvement and cohesion in churches
Mel Lawrenz has been using an engaged, “whole church/whole–ministry” value system, strategy, and commitment in his missional church. He provides a new model to help churches maximize their strengths and revitalize their ministries through engaging with God, each other, their community, and the world. This “engagement” model is not merely a list of functions or stages of growth–it integrates the church, connecting worship and mission, local witness and global involvement, small groups and personal devotion.
Mel Lawrenz (Brookfield, WI) is senior pastor at the large Elmbrook Church, recently named one of the most influential and innovative churches in the U.S. His new Internet ministry, The Brook, offers text, audio, and video content to both church leaders and a general audience.
From the Inside Flap
"I am sick of fragmentation. How about you? The one community that should understand wholeness—and explore it, embrace it, luxuriate in it, model it, enhance it, promote it—is the church."
—Mel Lawrenz
In this timely book Mel Lawrenz—pastor of one of the most innovative churches in America—outlines his proven model for "whole church/whole ministry." Church leaders and congregants can embrace this model to reinvigorate their mission by engaging with God, each other, their community, and the world. A "whole church" means that a local congregation believes it is called to the whole purpose of God in and through the church, rather than some narrowly defined specialization.
As Lawrenz explains, all too often the church talks about God′s great provisions (grace, salvation, mercy), but they are not applied in real and practical ways in people′s lives. As a result many Christians have become disengaged. Step by step, Lawrenz shows how to apply the four types of engagement that will integrate a church:
Engage with God—expand the life of worship and personal devotion
Engage with God′s people—through small groups and other means
Engage with your community—become involved in meeting social needs
Engage with the world—develop an awareness and involvement in global mission
The dynamic whole church model is not merely a list of functions or stages of growth. It offers practical, down–to–earth ways to connect the church to its true mission and purpose.
Inside This Book
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4 reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Whole Church great for integrative thinking
7 May 2009
Format:Hardcover
Whole Church is one of those books that a reader might respond to with,"This makes so much sense...I'm surprised no one captured this before!" Eschewing siloed ministries Mel proposes that connecting to God, the church, the community and the world can be a seamless and interactive learning experience that serves us well in both spiritual formation and mission. For leaders who want to integrate ministry emphases...this is your book
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
The Key Word is Engagement
29 Sep 2009
Format:Hardcover
Whole Church by Mel Lawrenz is right on target with the key conept for all effective New Testament congregations. Engagement. Another word for this is discipleship. A key conecpt is relationships. While the most important thing that can captivatge the passion of a congregation is God's ideal vision for their spiritual Strategic journey, the most important activity of congregations is disciplemaking.
Engagement as explained in the Whole Church frames the disciplemaking process. It is about engagment with God, God's people, the congregation context, and the world. To be a whole church it is necessary to have full engagement that focuses on all four of these emphases.
The reason I feel so good about this approach by Mel Lawrenz is that it is a full affirmation of what I say in Pursuing the Full Kingdom Potential of Your Congregation (TCP Leadership Series)about the concept of Relationship Experiences. These experiences flavor the spiritual strategic journey of a congregation. How a congregation handles engagement around disciplemaking is its crucial ongoing activity.
A great thing about ths book is that is goes into depth on each of the four areas of engagement. If you want your congregation to be a whole church you will find yourself fully engaged with Mel's message.
BTW, a secondary theme I pulled from the book relates to avoiding unhealthy conflict by having a clear foucs on the four areas of engagement. This is an important point not to be missed that I cover in Every Congregation Needs a Little Conflict (TCP Leadership Series).
Thank you, Mel.
Engagement as explained in the Whole Church frames the disciplemaking process. It is about engagment with God, God's people, the congregation context, and the world. To be a whole church it is necessary to have full engagement that focuses on all four of these emphases.
The reason I feel so good about this approach by Mel Lawrenz is that it is a full affirmation of what I say in Pursuing the Full Kingdom Potential of Your Congregation (TCP Leadership Series)about the concept of Relationship Experiences. These experiences flavor the spiritual strategic journey of a congregation. How a congregation handles engagement around disciplemaking is its crucial ongoing activity.
A great thing about ths book is that is goes into depth on each of the four areas of engagement. If you want your congregation to be a whole church you will find yourself fully engaged with Mel's message.
BTW, a secondary theme I pulled from the book relates to avoiding unhealthy conflict by having a clear foucs on the four areas of engagement. This is an important point not to be missed that I cover in Every Congregation Needs a Little Conflict (TCP Leadership Series).
Thank you, Mel.
whole church engagement
19 July 2010
Format:Hardcover
I am not accustomed to reading books on church leadership and church growth, as so many of them simply reduce the conversation to models intended to be replicated, overused analogy, and bumper-sticker-depth practical theology. Truth be told, I enjoyed the read - perhaps because of a recent experience at Elmbrook Church where I was introduced to the congregation of which Mel Lawrenz has been a part for these past many years.
Churches of all sorts struggle with the issue of unity within the body, perhaps the most targeted area of our enemy. This book rests upon biblical truth and ministerial experience, and Mel is a good choice to have written it. His challenge is directed at church leadership, being sensitive to both the spiritual heritage of the faith and the modern relevance of the message. His opening lines, "I have never met a pastor or other church leader who said that he or she wanted to foster a partial or broken church. Churches are meant to be whole."
And yet the reality of fragmented church pervades the Christian experience in our day and age, for there is often more passionate pursuit of power and control than there is of Spirit.
This is a very practical-oriented and engaging book, which will appeal to a wide range of readers. With a wide range of examples, drawing from years of pastoral experience, the author is able to connect the need for whole churches to every conceivable situation of fragmentation our culture is facing. Yet, this does not cast a dark shadow over the message. Mel continues to be optimistic in the power of God's Spirit to bring about genuine change and lead to engagement.
Four areas of engagement form the centerpiece of the book: Engage with God, Engage with God's People, Engage with Your Community, Engage with the World. These areas of emphasis become foundational for the approach which the author advocates. At the end of each chapter are 25 suggestions for practical implication of the presented theories. Working through preparation to ongoing management, these steps help get the creative juices working for those involved in ministry leadership.
Churches of all sorts struggle with the issue of unity within the body, perhaps the most targeted area of our enemy. This book rests upon biblical truth and ministerial experience, and Mel is a good choice to have written it. His challenge is directed at church leadership, being sensitive to both the spiritual heritage of the faith and the modern relevance of the message. His opening lines, "I have never met a pastor or other church leader who said that he or she wanted to foster a partial or broken church. Churches are meant to be whole."
And yet the reality of fragmented church pervades the Christian experience in our day and age, for there is often more passionate pursuit of power and control than there is of Spirit.
This is a very practical-oriented and engaging book, which will appeal to a wide range of readers. With a wide range of examples, drawing from years of pastoral experience, the author is able to connect the need for whole churches to every conceivable situation of fragmentation our culture is facing. Yet, this does not cast a dark shadow over the message. Mel continues to be optimistic in the power of God's Spirit to bring about genuine change and lead to engagement.
Four areas of engagement form the centerpiece of the book: Engage with God, Engage with God's People, Engage with Your Community, Engage with the World. These areas of emphasis become foundational for the approach which the author advocates. At the end of each chapter are 25 suggestions for practical implication of the presented theories. Working through preparation to ongoing management, these steps help get the creative juices working for those involved in ministry leadership.
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