Ron Crandall, Turnaround and Beyond: A Hopeful Future for the Small Membership Church. Abingdon Press, 2008.
Referenced in: Small Church Leadership
LifeandLeadership.Com Summary
This is the updated edition of the Crandall’s popular volume first published in 1995. The original reflected the research of over 100 small church pastors who had successfully employed turnaround strategies. Though each situation was different, there were enough similarities among their stories that Crandall was able to surmise more-or-less standard turnaround strategies.
In this version, Crandall draws extensively from several additional sources. First, he consults turnaround/revitalization theories that address the natural tendency of every activity and organization to run down. This is true not only for churches, but also for universities, businesses, etc., thus the interest in organizational renewal among economists, historians, sociologists, and others to discover the common dynamics at work whenever new life grows in the face of death. Second, he gleans from the research of leadership theorists such R. H. Waterman’s In Search of Excellence and The Renewal Factor. In Search of Excellence identified eight critical factors that contributed to the success of the 40+ organizations selected for their excellence. The Renewal Factor identified the “builders” who made things better, and the eight consistent “dynamics of renewal” they employed as leaders. More recent research factors in as well, from writers such as Jim Collins’ Good to Great, Blanchard and Hodges’ Lead Like Jesus, Margaret Wheatley’s Leadership and the New Science, and many others. Third, he draws from church history, mainly Howard Snyder’s Signs of the Spirit: How God Reshapes the Church, which focuses primarily on the revitalization movements of Pietism, Moravianism, and Methodism to derive a ten-fold model of renewal that “brings new life to the larger church without either compromising its own validity or causing a split.” (7) Fourth, he conducted several interviews with a select group of small churches and their pastors who had actually experienced turnaround, out of which came twelve emerging turnaround strategies. This fourth component forms the basis for his book.
In eight chapters, Crandall describes the special characteristics of turnaround pastors, the dynamics of spiritual renewal, major obstacles and how they can be sidestepped or overcome, small church missional and evangelistic outreach, spiritual maturity and discipleship, how to maintain momentum in small churches during times of pastoral transition, and finally a leadership model for integrating all of these concerns in a workable strategy. This strategy forms the essential basis for the updated edition.
This is an excellent, well-researched, and inspiring text on the best practices of effective small church leaders.
From the Publisher
This new volume in the Effective Church Series tells how your small church can prosper. In Turnaround Strategies for the Small Church, the author shows what kind of leadership, evangelism, and outreach will bring about a desirable turnaround. He provides specific actions that will develop the skills of those who minister in the life of a small church, and helps pastors and other church leaders evaluate their ministry objectively, thereby enhancing their daily practice of ministry.
Editorial Reviews
“Ron Crandall is scratching us where we itch! His insights on the dynamics of small churches and his practical suggestions on renewing life and witness will make a substantial difference to thousands of churches in America.” -C. Peter Wagner, Professor of Chruch Growth, Fuller Theological Seminary
“Small churches everywhere are bleeding from diminishing vitality. Thousands of pasters and lay leaders are frustrated and discouraged as they face each day in weakening churches filled with apathetic masses. Enthusiastic members serve week after week on the edge of burnout. Ron Crandall provides hope on the horizon, and most important, a road map of how to get there.” -Kent R. Hunter, Church Growth Center, Corunna, Indiana
About the Author
Ron Crandall is the McCreless Professor of Evangelism in the E. Stanley Jones School of World Mission and Evangelism, at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. Previously he worked with small churches as an evangelism director for the General Board of Discipleship, The United Methodist Church.
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