I started and finished Overcoming Growth Barriers by Michael Fletcher today. This is what happens when you spend 3 hours in a waiting room to a Doctor’s office. Anyway, the book looked interesting so I picked it up. I didn’t like the title, because I think a lot of the church growth stuff is crap. It’s usually written by guys who’ve never lead, planted, or Pastored anything in their lives. So I’m a bit weary about books like this. Michael Fletcher on the other hand, is a practitioner who is reaching people in his area.

What I liked most about this book was the focus on the inward organizational leadership structure that’s key for a church to continue to reach people with the Gospel and see them discipled. It wasn’t a book about how to put on a dog and pony show to get people in the door. It was about how to align your leadership with your God-given vision, get believers involved in ministry, and see unchurched people come to faith. It’s a short read (144 pages), but it’s worth it. Some stuff didn’t apply in our context, but that’s true with most books.

I take the chicken wing approach with my reading…eat the meat and throw out the bones.