Planting Growing Churches for the 21st Century | Book Review

Reviewed by Thomas Scarborough

This has been a popular book, and deservedly so. It is now in its seventh printing. The journal Missiology describes it as “perhaps one of the most comprehensive, instructive, and inspiring books on the subject of American church planting written to date.” This is a book that covers every conceivable aspect of Church planting in a thoroughly practical way. To view it as being relevant only to Church planters would be to miss a great opportunity. As the subtitle suggests, it also has much to offer “those desiring renewal”.

THE SUBJECT OF THE BOOK

The author illustrates the problem by quoting Win Arn: “Between 80% and 85% of all churches in America are either plateaued or are declining.” He writes: “The future looks bleak in terms of reaching unchurched America.” In this regard, he gives some interesting insights into the problem, and this is perhaps the first book I have read (as a non-American) that gives one the sense that the inner impasses in the Church are explained as well as its outer circumstances. What to do? “While some established churches will renew themselves and successfully make the transition, this will be too painful and too difficult for the bulk of them, and they’ll not survive . . . It’s far easier to plant a new church than to renew a dying one.” In this regard, the author quotes Peter Wagner: “The single most effective evangelistic methodology under heaven is planting new churches.” In short, the established Churches are seen largely as a lost cause, and “the future lies with church planting”. While the case for Church planting is, dare we say, well planted, I did have misgivings about its being presented as an alternative to the renewal of established Churches. A statistic was conspicuously absent from the book. All Churches in the USA were at some time Church plants — yet among the 80% to 85% that are now plateaued or in decline, when were they planted? The author again quotes Win Arn — without comment — that “many” planted Churches “begin a plateau and/or slow decline around their 15th-18th year”. That is, they may well become what they set out to replace. He repeatedly suggests that planted Churches themselves may “conform”, “stray”, “shift” — the verbs are many. I have the uneasy sense that, until one should discover the key to the renewal of established Churches, one might miss the real reasons for stagnation and decline.

THE CONTENT OF THE BOOK

The book has more than one-thousand headings through well over four hundred pages. If it has to do with Church planting, it is in this book — it is a cornucopia. Nevertheless, I shall try to give some brief impression of its contents. It begins on a note of excitement — that “God is capable of doing extraordinary things” — that one plants Churches, in fact, with a “sense of anticipation” for what the Lord might do. Further, there is a strong emphasis that Church planting is an act of faith: “We either believe in Him and act, or doubt and vacillate.” A primary consideration of anyone entering Church planting — particularly a family — is surely how one might make ends meet. Thus the author discusses “financial sources” and “financial principles”. He follows this with a description of how different people have different strengths, weaknesses, and giftings for Church planting, stating that one needs to discover one’s “divine design”, so that “the ministry as a whole will function more effectively”. A good many tools and pointers are included under these sections. Then he enters upon the importance of developing “a single, clear vision”, describing some of the perils of being without one — or of having “several visions” at once (a “July 4 mentality — lots of fireworks”), or even “the wrong vision” altogether. He emphasises the need for excellence in ministry, the role of the leader, and the role of the congregation in ministry. He surveys important issues of culture, and outlines “the importance of worship”. Then follows what I would consider to be one of the highlights of the book — a section on “pursuing lost people with a passion”. I have drawn on this several times in my own Church and ministry — it is a superb resource on evangelism. Then the author examines the purpose and organisation of small groups — and finally, in the closing chapters, he deals with details of the life cycle of a planted Church.

THE ALL-AMERICAN CHURCH

The book is clearly written by Americans for Americans, and reveals many American perspectives and biases. This having been said, my reflections here should in no way detract from the overall value of the book, which is one of the most useful and encouraging I have read. I shall merely touch on some of the ways in which the book represents an “enclosed” American (respectively Western) view. Small groups, writes the author, “are not limited by location”. One wonders whether he ever considered the absence of personal transport, or the danger of being out of doors. “They can meet just about anywhere”, he writes — apparently oblivious to the possibility of restrictions on movement or hospitality, or of labourers’ quarters with no room for more than a single chair. In short, the book would seem to have little idea of some of the possible constraints on small groups outside the USA. The use of computers is mentioned as though computers should populate every Church, not to speak of electrical outlets. The book’s views on leadership would seem a classic representation of the American “can do” attitude. The author writes: “The key to influence is character and a significant vision.” Yet one misses almost any reference to weakness, dependence, and faith in this section. Pastors need to exercise “strong leadership”, and “leaders exert a powerful influence on people”. From the African side, American pastors (some of them) might be thought of as being hamstrung precisely by this attitude. Human strength may not be the strength which renews the Church. One surely needs to set oneself aside — both one’s strengths and one’s fears — and let the Holy Spirit minister beyond such human intrusions. Finally, the book’s perspectives on evangelicalism tend to reflect the American view. Evangelicalism is often, it seems, what the West would define it to be — no matter what its character might be in Africa or Asia or South America.

SYNTHESIS

The author, with regard to the renewal of established Churches, refers to Lyle Schaller’s view that “nobody knows how to do it”. Yet there are people who do. A colleague of mine in the neighbouring bay achieved a remarkable turnaround in his Church, and I myself was able to renew an established Church, with much needed help from Above. I am sceptical about the basic tenets of the book — however, I would not consider that this greatly detracts from an outstanding volume. In fact I found it an inspiration — a motivation.

CITATION OF REFERENCES

Malphurs, Aubrey. Planting Growing Churches for the 21st Century: A Comprehensive Guide for New Churches and Those Desiring Renewal (Second Edition). Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 2003.