I know this is probably going to upset a few people (Mostly non-church planters), so let me say sorry right up front. But I find that many of the guys writing books about church planting have much to say about demographics, sociological issues, trends, and what’s hot, but many lack one key ingredient: they’ve never planted a church. So when we started CCML, I read all of these books about how to plant and healthy church. Then I realized this was all theory. Surveys can help to a degree (If they are done in your area), cultural changes are very important for every pastor to aware of, and trends can give us an perspective we never thought of. But I want to learn from people who have done and are still doing it. We are not a purpose driven church in the traditional sense (No baseball diamond or 101, 201, or 301 classes), but I highly recommend Rick Warren’s book to every guy who’s going to start a church. Why? Because it gives us the opportunity to learn from someone who is doing it. That’s why “7 Practices” was such a powerful book for me. It wasn’t Andy’s theories about church. It was the cold, hard, facts about what they are doing and how God is working in their church. Do we take everything they say and implement it? Of course not! In fact, with the 2 books I mentioned, while both of them agree on many points, Andy And Rick have 2 totally different views on how to plant a church. Simply: Andy’s focus is keeping things simple with 1 target for everyone which is getting people into groups. Rick’s desire is to have a ministry for everyone, so no one can ever say, “Saddleback didn’t have anything that could meet my needs.” Both are seeking to accomplish the same goal, but going about it in 2 totally different ways. But you have to decide what God is calling YOU to do. I think that’s why I liked Ed Young & Andy Stanley’s “Can We Do that?” book so much. They both would give completely opposing views on things like marketing, ministries, and teaching style. It forced every reader to think and be ‘Fully convinced in his own mind.” I like books like that. But I just don’t find a book full of facts and figures very helpful because it’s not experience that’s drawling the conclusions as to what will work. It’s the gathering, sorting, and interpretation of data from churches of all denominations and styles from all over the country. I’ve just found that those books don’t really help me very much. So if you’re planning to plant a church, save your pennies and buy the best books. What are they? I will post a list of my favorites soon…