Change Your Church for Good: The Art of Sacred Cow Tipping

Some similarities to the Purpose Driven Model, which I use, but different a the same time. Good insight into ministry changes and re-development.

I read this book and have attended Northridge dozens of times. I grew up in Temple Baptist and spent 3-4 days there until 1982. My parents met at Temple Baptist in the early '60's. My grandmother attended in the 1940's. Needless to say, I know a lot about the history of Temple Baptist. It was indeed culturally irrelevant by the time I left in 1982 as it was stifling and ultra conservative. Northridge is now transformed into a place where new Christians and seekers of God, Christ & the Spirit will be able to connect and find God, healing & worship. It is definitely a place to launch into Christianity although the waters can be shallow. There are only two items I do not like about the book. One is that it is poorly written. It reads as if Brad dictated it. It needed better editing. The other item I do not like is the information that the membership declined since 1955. This "fact" has been picked up all over the web. Although this is true, the contextual information that is left out is that this was partly intentional by Temple Baptist. In 1955 Detroit had virtually no suburbs. As the suburbs began to spring up, Temple Baptist financially launched and encouraged dozens of suburban churches to support neighborhoods. It was understood that their membership numbers would decline due to losing members to the new churches that Temple launched. This was the primary reason for losing membership from 1955 - mid 1970's and not cultural irrelevance. I think that this was important information which was left out of the book. Otherwise, this book is an important guide for how churches can attract people seeking or needing Christ that would otherwise never set foot in a church. They can't find Christ if churches don't try to reach them by connecting with our modern culture.

Are you in a church with a 175 year history? Traditions that are blocking the spread of God's word. Is your church in decline or simply not growing? This book builds on Rick Warren's concept of purpose driven. Our church is currently going through some major transitions. Pastor Powell's book has been a great encouragement.

I know first hand the remarkable place that Northridge Church is and the remarkable changes that occurred due to Brad's vision and leadership. I never really felt at home in church until I attended Northridge and truly realized that God could be revelant to my life and the way I live it. If you care about growing your church and making it relevant to the masses you MUST read this book.

I just finished reading this book and highly recommend it to anyone that cares about their church, and the mission of THE CHURCH. God, through Brad, changed a dying and irrelevant church into Metro Detroit's most dynamic and effective church body. This was only possible because the members caught his vision for reaching the lost, and offering them the hope and healing that can only be found in Jesus Christ. For those that know of NorthRidge, it is an opportunity to see what happened behind the scenes in those turbulent years of transition, and to see the spiritual and emotional struggles that Brad and his leadership team endured. For those that are new to the story, it is an opportunity to learn from their struggles to move your church to where it should be. If we are not reaching the lost, we are not obeying Jesus' command. To reduce the book to a few sentences: most churches are ruled more by tradition and customs than by the Word of God., are directed more by illogical fears and selfish motives than by Christ's Command to "Go into the World", and are more focused on insiders than on the outsiders, erecting walls to hold out the "undesirables" rather than trying to desperately pull them from the flames. The book is a solid Eye openener that will have you re-evaluating everything your church does to see if it is done because it makes us feel comfortable, or if it is done to pull in as many of the lost as possible "without compromising God's Word." People are hurting everywhere. No one is exempt, and the Church needs to be the one offering the "One" that provides true healing. Brad and NorthRidge are getting it right, that is why I now go there, and why so many thousand others go each week. If every church had the heart and drive of NorthRidge, this world would be a much better place.