"Radical Hospitality. Passionate Worship. Intentional Faith Development. Risk-Taking Mission and Service. Extravagant Generosity. People are searching for a church shaped and sustained by these qualities. The presence and strength of these five practices demonstrate congregational health, vitality, and fruitfulness. By repeating and improving these practices, churches fulfill their mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world."
The paragraph above opened the original Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations, published in 2007. No one imagined that in the years that followed, more than 600,000 copies of the book and its supplemental materials would strengthen thousands of congregations in multiple languages around the world. The practicality and simplicity of the ideas and the energizing quality of the adjectives that modify the practices have stimulated sermon series, leadership retreats, and discipleship discussions on six continents. The practices have brought clarity of purpose for Christian leaders and inspired boldness to initiate ministries that change lives. The Five Practices remain as fresh and as motivating today as when they first appeared in print.
And yet, when the original Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations was released, no one had iPhones, Facebook was limited to use by a few universities, Netflix mailed DVDs to our homes, and Blockbuster had over six thousand stores. Social media, in all its various expressions we know today, did not exist. The refugee crisis, the threat of terrorism in the US and Europe, the election of President Obama and then of President Trump, new conversations about race, gender, and guns in America, the changing attitudes toward immigrants—clearly, in our evolving world, so much has happened since the book was written. Read More
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