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 PrintableVersion Building a strategic churchPractical tips for churchBUILDING A STRATEGIC CHURCH David Beer is now serving as the regional leader of Purpose Driven Church Europe. As the title suggests, he has written this book to help churches become more ‘strategic’. One of the things that put me off this book right from the start is that he never clearly defines what this means — even in an opening chapter entitled ‘Why be Strategic?’ Instead he simply states that it involves a number of important principles — such as ‘Strong Leadership’, ‘Team Spirit’, ‘Relational Structures’, ‘Application Preaching’, and ‘Involvement in the Local Community’ — which then become the headings for the rest of the chapters. ‘Every generation … needs to ask [Jesus] what he is building and how they can get in on it,’ he writes (p.21). Absolutely! But he never answers that question. ‘There are important biblical values and principles that do not change’ (p.32). Definitely! But the book would be greatly improved if it showed what these are. Beer does quote the Bible from time-to-time, and it obviously lies behind much of what he says. But it would be good if he showed how what he writes comes from there and not just from the wisdom of Rick Warren and Charles Spurgeon — both of whom are widely quoted as well. David Beer writes well and, while the book is probably aimed mainly at church leaders, most people would find it accessible. But I was irritated by his insistence on acrostic headings. So the first letters of the chapter titles spell ‘strategic’ and the first letters of the sub-headings within each chapter spell out the title of that chapter. As you might expect, this leads to much of his material being shoe-horned under inappropriate headings and often repeated. That said — and to my surprise — the book grew on me as I read. David Beer has considerable experience in pastoral ministry (most recently as senior pastor of Frinton Free Church) and frequently draws out lessons he has learned along the way. I found all sorts of helpful and practical ideas in many of the chapters, particularly in those on preaching, training and equipping people within our churches, and involvement in the local community. I wouldn’t recommend you read this book to gain a biblical understanding of the role of the local church, or to find a carefully-argued thesis about how we go about fulfilling that role. For that, read Tim Chester and Steve Timmis’s Total Church or Graham Beynon’s God’s New Community. But if you are simply looking for some practical tips to feed into and stimulate what you’re currently doing, this book would certainly be worth a look. David Horrocks, © Evangelicals Now - January 2008 |
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