One poll declared him the most influential American church leader of the last 100 years. Lyle E. Schaller has written literally millions of words of insight and advice for church leaders. His books alone number nearly 60 titles and span 40 years of publication, beginning in 1964. Now, this single volume makes available his best insights, organized by topic and framed with fascinating background perspective of Schaller himself. This volume both introduces Schaller to a new generation of church leaders and is a handy resource for those who grew up on Schaller's writing and count him as a major ministry influence.
One poll declared him the most influential American church leader of the last 100 years. Lyle E. Schaller has written literally millions of words of insight and advice for church leaders. His books alone number nearly 60 titles and span 40 years of publication, beginning in 1964. Now, this single volume makes available his best insights, organized by topic and framed with fascinating background perspective of Schaller himself. This volume both introduces Schaller to a new generation of church leaders and is a handy resource for those who grew up on Schaller's writing and count him as a major ministry influence.
Kindle Edition There are many questions that leaders of small-membership congregations ask themselves about their church's future. Lyle Schaller suggests that two in particular should rise to the top of the list. First, what's the right size of for a church? Is the small congregation averaging two or three dozen people at worship a legitimate order of God's creation? You bet it is, says Schaller. Second, should these congregations make their plans on the basis of few resources and fewer options, or should they see themselves as possessed of pools of talent and expanding possibilities? If you are convinced that the former is true, then this book is not for you. If, however, you are among those who believe that small-membership churches are distinctive places of Christian witness and service, spreading the gospel and living in service to the world in ways that other, larger churches are not, then this book is for you. In it you will find the right questions to ask as you seek to lead a small-membership congregation, and solid, practical guidance for doing so.
Are you still suffering over the sight of empty pews? Have your efforts been more than exhaustive in expanding your congregation? Have you maximized your brainstorming potential for bringing in new members? If you have reached what appears to be your limit, then no longer fret, 44 Ways To Increase Church Attendance can open the doors of both your church and mind. With proven techniques for building a body for Christ, church leaders can increase their membership and then free themselves to focus on other important missions for God. Schaller's suggestions will energize leaders and put their churches on the road of abundance.
Schaller defines a "plateau" as a stagnant holding point in the size and energy of a congregation--a level at which energy is focused entirely on maintenance of past structures. He shows how to move a long-established congregation up off a plateau in size and explains the three most important steps. Brings together in one volume Schaller's comprehensive analysis of a difficult subject.
Lyle E. Schaller is America's most influential religious leader among all denominations, according to a survey of more than three thousand religious leaders conducted by the Hartford Religious Research Center and reported in the Los Angeles Times.
Five different strategies for increasing the size of the congregation are developed by Lyle E. Schaller - with applications to small, middle-sized, and larger churches. Schaller also includes comments on the formulation of a workable denominational strategy for church growth. No church exists in complete isolations from all other churches, notes Schaller, "although thousands of congregations appear not to believe it." Effectively using an informative case-history approach to outlining church-growth strategies, Schaller works from several basic assumptions. Visitation evangelism is the ideal method of obtaining new members, he says, but it is not always appropriate. He warns of the tendency of long-established congregations to attract "new" members from other churches..."the circulation of the saints." Schaller also assumes that every church's approach to growth will rest on a foundation of its values, goals, dreams, prejudices, assumptions, interpretations of reality, theological perspectives, and understanding of the biblical imperative. It is good, says Schaller, for Christians to be members of congregations; it is good for congregations to receive new members; and it is good for denominations to grow in numbers.
The most effective way to influence both individual and institutional behavior is to ask questions. This text provides a conceptual framework for asking questions about congregations and it classifies various syndromes that prevent a church from making the changes that are needed for new life. It will become the first choice of church champions who choose to intervene in the life of the church.
In 44 Ways to Revitalize the Women's Organization, Schaller offers hundreds of practical insights and fresh ideas to promote growth and vitality in women's fellowhips of all kinds and sizes. He provides thought-provoking questions to ponder and examines many crucial elements of women's fellowhips - such as organizational policies, group size and program mix. Schaller affirms the exceptional value of women's fellowhips and the vital contribution they can make to the church, to the community, and to the support and sustenance of the members themselves.
How can the pastor and the congregation best forge a dynamic and productive partnership? What do the most successful churches do to maximize their effectiveness? Answers to these questions and more await you in this revised edition of Lyle E. Schaller's The Pastor and the People. Every year for the past quarter-century, Lyle E. Schaller has personally visited and studied one hundred to three hundred congregations representing better than three dozen denominations across the United States and Canada. This extraordinary experience has earned him wisdom and insight that he shares with you here.
With brilliant insight and engaging description, Schaller reveals the reasons behind the worldwide emergence of Seven-Days-a-Week "megachurches", which are more likely to be inclusive and pluralistic while small churches are more likely to be homogeneous and exclusive. Over one million copies of books written or edited by Schaller are now in print.
Over his productive, twenty-five-year career as "America's foremost authority on the dynamics of church life" Leadership magazine), Lyle E. Schaller has written or edited books whose total sales now exceed 1 million copies. In Reflections of a Contrarian, Schaller asserts the time has come to challenge the "conventional wisdom" regarding twelve church-related issues. Schaller offers insights based on his twenty-eight years working as a consultant to more than four dozen religious bodies.
Here is the story of a man with a vision for new life in urban churches. In this book, Edington shows how to use innovation to lead a congregation to numerical, financial and spiritual success. He shows pastors in the city environment proven methods for keeping their churches alive and well despite the particular obstacles facing them in the urban landscape.
The past five decades have altered the role of churches, and the third millennium will bring an even more radically different context for ministry. In this important book, Schaller discusses four dozen factors that will provide challenges and opportunities for pastoral ministries in the next millennium.
When you look at your church, what image do you see? A small, self-sufficient fellowship - reminiscent, perhaps, of a cat? Or a responsive, affectionate congregation - more like, say, a collie? If your congregation numbers into the hundreds at worship time, could you think of it as a large and unified "mansion"? Or a diversified "ranch"? Is your church legalistic, with a heavy emphasis on rules and regulations? Is it ideological, stressing belief? Or does it comprise a loving, nurturing behaviorism? "Frequently," says Lyle Schaller, "it is difficult or impossible for congregational leaders to agree on the role God is calling that church to fill unless they can agree on contemporary reality." Looking in the Mirror provides a conceptual framework for church self-appraisal that can be a key factor in determining that reality and overcoming the passivity that blights so many congregations today.
Examines four major areas of concern affecting small churches: self-esteem, youth ministries, the financial base, and church growth. Looks at church staffing and discusses the key role of the Sunday school.
Of Lyle Schaller's 21 signs of the New Reformation, here are five: (1) a new era in Christian music; (2) hundreds of new information resources for congregations, including parachurches, teaching churches, independent entrepreneurs, theological seminaries, profit-driven businesses, retreat centers, and independent mission-sending agencies; (3) market-driven planning; (4) a new level of trust in the laity; and (5) the flattening of hierarchical structures.
Outlines the role and responsibilities of the senior minister in the large congregation. Offers insight into the skills and point of view that will make a senior minister an initiating leader.
Has your church fallen into a predictable routine? Is it drifting without purpose or resolve? Put an end to that by using Lyle E. Schaller's potent prescription for passive churches. Written for both lay and ordained congregational leaders, this timely book diagnoses the causes of church passivity, and formulates a method for combatting the problem. Dr. Schaller classifies churches according to their internal dynamics (rather than denomination or geographical location), and demonstrates how many have overcome the "twenty-year syndrome" - that awkward time when relatively new churches tend to lose their sense of direction. He also shows how churches can make a smooth transition from one pastor to another, and how new members can be used in establishing an effective church program. The cumulative result of twenty years of experience in parish trouble-shooting, Dr. Schaller's new book will be welcomed by church leaders everywhere who face the dreaded spectre of church passivity.
Strategies for Change argues that church growth techniques and measurements are only symptomatic. Change is the larger issue in any institution. This book is the fruit of the author's popular week-long workshops on planned change. The author begins by focusing on the institutional context for change. Is your church a high-commitment covenant community or a voluntary association? Where are the sources of authority for making changes? What kinds of leaders can best make changes? The book concludes with a checklist of strategies and tactics for making changes.
Declaring himself an unabashed optimist, Lyle E. Schaller looks back at four decades of observing religious life in North America and concludes that the church has far more reason for hope than for worry as it charts its course into the next forty years. Acknowledging that the roles of parish pastors and leaders have become increasingly complex, he also points out that these leaders can be far better equipped to contribute to congregational vitality and growth than were their predecessors a generation ago. Schaller draws on his own work, as well as that of others, to point to crucial lessons learned in evangelism, multiculturalism, stewardship, worship, communication, and other areas. He concludes that, armed with these tools, the lay and clergy leaders of congregations can be more faithful and more effective in leading their churches in the path God has chosen.
Expert Lyle Schaller helps the leaders of larger churches understand the special characteristics of these churches, and helps members of multiple staffs see their role and the context of that role more clearly.
Lyle E. Schaller offers seven basic factors for translating important new concepts from the behavioral sciences into terms that can be used for effectively solving church problems. Is guilt a means of motivation in your church? How does the appearance of the meeting place affect the type or quality of worship a church has? Specific and relatively common issues such as these, which face nearly every church of every denomination at one point or another, are discussed, as well as budgeting, worship, evangelism, expansion of facilities, tenure, fellowship, and motivation. Schaller includes a chapter on "Symptoms or Problems?" and uses four case studies to illustrate how easy it is to focus on symptoms rather than on basic underlying causes. Lyle Schaller believes that armed with a realistic diagnosis, almost everyone has the potential to be a problem-solver and respond creatively and innovatively. His method of problem-solving encourages us not to dwell on past mistakes or regrets, but to plan with the future in mind.
As he shows how to identify the priorities for the Christian education program in any church, Schaller takes an approach often considered contrary to what is offered by educators. Helpful tips explain how teaching is the best way (after preaching) to attract new members; teaching reinforces preaching and liturgy; teaching activates a passive congregation, and more.
In It's a Different World best-selling author/consultant Lyle E. Schaller tackles the question, Why is pastoring especially difficult in the 1980s? It's a Different World! helps church leaders understand and effectively grapple with the "new realities" of church life today. It contains indispensable insights and an excellent overview of the new challenges and opportunities facing today's church professionals.
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