Bob Searl of University Baptist Church in Shawnee, Okla., reviews “Growing An Engaged Church,” a book by Al Winseman, who will be the featured speaker at the Leadership Institute during CBF’s General Assembly. To regsiter for the event and hear Winseman, visit www.thefellowship.info/assembly.
Like most CBF Peer Learning Groups, the ministers in my group come from a variety of churches – large, downtown congregations, new suburban churches, and churches old and new in small cities. Like most pastors we are concerned with helping our churches grow in both attendance and health. So we choose to read Albert Wiseman’s book Growing an Engaged Church during the winter of 2008. Wiseman begins the book by sounding a familiar alarm: church attendance is dropping precipitously and churches are dying. What sets this book apart is the author’s solution. Wiseman contends that the difference between a dying church and a healthy, thriving church is engagement. Engaged church members are those who are more than simply involved in the church; they are emotionally connected to it. Engaged members feel valued by the church and believe that they make a significant contribution to the life of the church. Engaged members are more spiritually committed to the church and are more likely to invite friends, and to give more of both time and money.
Our group appreciated Wiseman’s practical suggestions for deepening congregational engagement such as clarifying membership expectations, developing small groups, and helping members discover what they do best. Regarding the last suggestion, Wiseman suggests asking new members a simple question: “What do you love to do?” The trick is to take their response and help them find a place of service in the church that allows them to do what they do best. We particularly enjoyed Wiseman’s comments about handling actively non-engaged members. These are people who are often deeply involved in the congregation, but their emotional attachment is negative. These people, whom Wiseman describes as “Chronically Against Virtually Everything” typically drain the emotional energy of pastors who respond to their negativity by trying to make them happy, or at least, by trying to placate them. Wiseman suggests that pastors avoid focusing their energy on the chronically negative, and instead, give their attention to improving the engagement of people who are simply not yet engaged.
This is a good read. We recommend it.