10 Temptations of Church

by Flowers, John; Vannoy, Karen

• ISBN13: 9781426745393
• ISBN10: 1426745397
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-05-10
• Publisher: Abingdon Pr

Summary

The temptations that may destroy your church-and how to prevent them.

Author Biography

Karen Vannoy and John Flowers served in separate new church development projects before joining to revitalize Travis Park United Methodist Church in San Antonio and First United Methodist Church in Phoenix. Karen is the District Superintendent of Tucson, and John mentors pastors and congregations through www.churchfortomorrow.com.

Table of Contents

Foreword: The Golden Calf, Bronze Serpent, and Brass Angel	p. vii
Preface	p. xv
The Need for Power	p. 1
The Temptation to Accrue Power	p. 3
Limit Every Member to One Office	p. 9
Clarify the Nominating Process	p. 11
The Temptation to Exercise Financial Influence	p. 19
Kill Entitlement Culture	p. 25
Foundations and Endowments	p. 26
The Temptation to Gather Information	p. 29
Change the Way Leaders Interact with Those Incentivized for Decline	p. 35
Communicate in As Many Forms As Possible	p. 36
The Need for Intimacy	p. 39
The Temptation to Maintain the Status Quo	p. 41
Confront Worship Routines	p. 42
Meet the Need for Familiarity in Other Ways	p. 50
Change Your Worship Space	p. 51
Change Your Worship Service	p. 52
The Temptation to Become an Insider	p. 57
You Know You Are an Insider If	p. 59
The Temptation to Limit Church Size	p. 63
Satisfy the Need to Be Known and Cared For	p. 65
Pursue Smallness Aggressively	p. 66
The Need for Affirmation	p. 73
The Temptation to Become Child-Focused	p. 75
Move from Child /Youth-Focused to Child/Youth-Friendly	p. 79
Thriving Preschools and Declining Churches	p. 83
The Temptation to Push Ministry on Clergy and Paid Staff	p. 89
Reorganize the Work of Ministry	p. 95
The Temptation to Avoid the Hard Work of Assimilation	p. 97
Practice Radical Hospitality	p. 102
The Need for Stability	p. 105
We Will Be Here Long After You Are Gone!	p. 106
The Temptation to Play It Safe	p. 109
Change Is Disruptive and Declining Churches Face Less Change	p. 111
Laity, Make Your Church the Best Place to Work	p. 115
Pastors, Honestly Evaluate Your Position	p. 116
Epilogue: Moving Forward: How to Resist the Temptations of Church	p. 119
Recognize and Name the Fear	p. 123
How Can the Cycle of Fear Be Broken?	p. 127
Change the Culture	p. 128
The Christian Faith Defines Meaning	p. 129
The Christian Faith Defines Community	p. 131
The Christian Faith Defines Hope	p. 133
Appendix
Leadership Covenant	p. 135
Covenant of Respect	p. 138
Notes	p. 139
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