If you’re a church leader then you’ll certainly want to check this book out. It’s not every day that the pastor of one of the biggest churches in America pulls back the veil to both his relationship with his father and his church.
I wanted to read this because I am somewhat familiar with Andy Stanley’s ministry. However, I picked it up not knowing exactly what to expect. Andy starts off by giving some very personal history about how his church got started and why there was a rift in his relationship with his father.
The core of the book is focused on why it’s important to build a church that unchurched people feel comfortable in and how it can be done. Andy shares in detail from his personal experience in ministry. The last few chapters are a resource to help church leaders successfully navigate their people through change.
What impressed me most was the amount of intentional thought and planning that went into every aspect of Andy’s church. You may or may not agree with how Andy’s church does ministry, but you can’t help but agree that everything they do is extremely well thought out.
Mainly Andy talks about how they structure their morning services to maximize their opportunity to connect with guests and make them feel at home. Some of his tactics may push the limits, like allowing unbelievers to serve in various ministries. However, I found that reading through the book encouraged me to think more deeply about why and how we do things in our church.
The book is written in conversational style and is specifically written with pastors and church leaders in mind.
If you are in any kind of church leadership this book would be high on my list of recommended reading.
