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Reviews of Books & Movies

Book Review: Rebuilt

Awakening the Faithful, Reaching the Lost, and Making Church Matter

By Michael White and Tom Corcoran

Reviewed by Peter DeHaan

Are things not working at your church? Is your congregation aging and attendance dwindling? Are people just going through the motions and not engaged? Do folks arrive at the last minute and scurry off as soon as the service ends?

If any of these questions connects with you, then this book, Rebuilt: Awakening the Faithful, Reaching the Lost, and Making Church Matter, can provide insight to bring about positive change and produce a different outcome for your church.

With refreshing candor and an appropriate layer of humor, authors White and Corcoran share their journey in turning around and reinvigorating their dying church.

Though written by two Catholics about a Catholic parish, this book reaches far beyond Catholicism to provide useful information for any Christian church, including all streams of Protestantism.

In fact, many references in this book cite Protestant leaders, perhaps more so than Catholic sources. As such this is a book for all Christians who care about their church and want to make it better.

Another refreshing benefit of Rebuilt is the dual perspective of its two authors. Michael White is a Catholic pastor, while Tom Corcoran is a lay leader.

This allows them to share contrasting views of their church, one from the eye of a trained clergy and the other one from a caring staffer. Interestingly, both White and Corcoran arrived at this parish planning for a short-term situation, but they ended up staying for the long-term and turning around the dying church.

Rebuilt provides practical ideas of what to do in reinvigorating a struggling church and how to make it work.

The authors also share why things worked. But even more insightful are the honest and sometimes painful initiatives that didn’t work.

Here we can learn even more from their failures than their successes.

The transition that this book documents didn’t happen quickly. It took time, a lot of time, along with many moments of discouragement and frustration.

But the outcome was worth it. And this gives everyone encouragement that a struggling church can change to impact its members and its community.

Whether you’re a clergy or a lay leader, if you care about your church and want to make it better, read Rebuilt: Awakening the Faithful, Reaching the Lost, and Making Church Matter.

[Rebuilt: Awakening the Faithful, Reaching the Lost, and Making Church Matter, by Michael White and Tom Corcoran. Published by Ave Maria Press, 2012, ISBN: 1594713863, 292 pages.]

Read more book reviews by Peter DeHaan.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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Categories
Bible Insights

Leadership Lessons from the Book of Judges

The People Did as They Saw Fit in the Book of Judges; Things Aren’t Much Different Today

The book of Judges is a curious one, containing some really questionable content, especially toward the end of the book. The judges it highlights are a colorful bunch, some exhibiting quite dubious behavior.

It boils down to leadership and a lack of leadership. Judges gives us some leadership lessons.

In Judges, the people are a motley collection, and I cringe over some of their attitudes and actions. Yet despite the shortcomings of many, they do lead people to freedom and to a refocus of their attention on God.

This cycle of disobedience (rejecting God), oppression (punishment), liberation (rescue), and returning to God (obedience) is a reoccurring theme in the book of Judges.

Another reoccurring theme is the phrase, “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit” (Judges 21:25).

In fact, this is the concluding sentence of the book of Judges, a fitting end to a collection of stories, some of which I find quite disconcerting.

Leadership Lessons

Without the godly leadership of a king, the people flounder. (Of course, we will later learn they don’t fair too well under the rule of kings either, most of who will rebel against God and lead their people to follow their errors.)

Today we also lack godly leadership. And without good leaders people pretty much do as they see fit. So, true to our nature, most everyone is doing whatever he or she wants.

We see this with the in vogue religion of today, where people make up their own religious beliefs, their own set of rules – or lack thereof. We are so in need of good leaders to guide us.

Yet we are all leaders, be it in society, the political arena, education, at work, in our home, and even of ourselves—we are especially leaders of ourselves.

Doing as we see fit can lead us down a wrong path. Instead, we need to let God lead us and then do what he wants.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Judges 19-21, and today’s post is on Judges 21:25.]

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.”

​Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.

Categories
Christian Living

There Are Multiple Ways to Win

I ran track throughout high school, earning four varsity letters in the sport. I relished the comradery and loved the competition. We won many more meets than we lost, which was a great bonus.

As a sophomore, I ranked number five in points on my varsity team. My future as a track standout looked bright.

However, injury produced a different outcome. Though in great pain, I persisted in competing my senior year. With each step causing me agony, I did the minimal requirement for practice. When it came time to compete, I struggled.

Knowing my on-field contribution would be minimal, I decided to support my team in other ways.

I became an encourager to my teammates: pumping them up when they were down, celebrating races won and commiserating over disappointing finishes.

Lessons learned in treating my own injuries became skills I could share with others. Soon teammates were bypassing the coach and coming to me to tape their legs, apply ointments, and seek advice.

I organized the sprinters to ring the track during long-distance events to cheer on our runners as they clicked off lap after lap.

When something needed to be carried, I carried it. When a teammate required help, I helped. When the coach asked for volunteers, I stepped forward. I did whatever I could.

My example must have rubbed off on others. Once, an opponent fell in agony during a race. It was our team, and not his teammates, who carried him off the track and made sure he would be okay.

leadership trophy

Though we came in third that competition, we walked off with the sportsmanship trophy.

I barely won enough events my senior year to earn a letter, an outcome that remained in doubt until the next to the last meet of the season. My team did well that year, and though I produced little on the track, I did what I could to help.

At our concluding sports banquet, the coach handed out honors. Before he announced the sportsmanship award, he showered glowing accolades on the recipient.

I assumed he was talking about someone else and was shocked when—based on the vote of my teammates—he presented the trophy to me. I gladly received it as their way of saying thanks.

Though the season didn’t turn out as anticipated, it was my best year of all.

In retrospect, injury should have sidelined me. I could have given up or quit the team. I might have become bitter or even worked to sabotage their efforts.

Thankfully God directed me to a different course, to be a positive influence to my teammates and serve them as best I could.

God, I dedicate this award to you.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.”

​Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.