Anthony G. Pappas, Entering the World of the Small Church: A Guide for Leaders, Revised and Expanded Edition. Alban Institute, 2000.
Referenced in: Small Church Leadership
LifeandLeadership.com Summary
This book is the quintessential primer on understanding small church dynamics, written with Pappas’ characteristic balance of sensitivity for the present and vision for the future. He begins with a discussion of six challenges for small churches: traditionalism, “niceness,” “club” mentality, paralysis in the face of conflict, negative “scripts,” and the cost of buildings.
From there, he suggests the theological and theoretical models that are most helpful as leaders of small churches conceive of their ministry contexts. This is to counter the temptation to view the church through the predominant societal models such as “meeting needs in the marketplace,” where churches with “inferior products” such as bad music and spotty programs go bankrupt and die. Not only are models like this unfitting theologically at times, but they also are unreachable by most small churches. To secure more biblical and hopeful models for small congregations, he surveys several alternatives (systems, business, biological, family, etc.), but settles on the image of “God’s tribe.” He bases this on two biblical metaphors, “people of God” and “body of Christ,” with heavier emphasis on the former, proposing that the sociological and anthropological equivalent of “people of God” is “folk society” or “tribe.” He lists 19 characteristics of folk societies. If these are interpreted through the lens of scriptures such as 1 Peter 2:9, “chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people,” they allow for an acceptable picture of the church as “God’s tribe.” He says: “as such God’s people rightly have their own language and culture, history and traditions, patriarchs and heroes, stories and legends, institutions and ways of doing things.” (15) This model allows leaders of small churches to discern several features that are true of their congregations.
In the next several chapters, Pappas demonstrates the ways this model affects how small churches perceive themselves and the world, how they are motivated to act, how they experience time and space, and how they prefer maintenance over transformation and preservation over change unless it “fits” the congregation.
In the second part of the book, Pappas discusses how to lead in such an environment. He summarizes this section by saying that “to the degree that we are in accord with the nature of the small church’s social structuring, we will be effective.” (93) He describes six qualities of small churches and six corresponding attitudes that are necessary for durable leadership.
The last part of the book is perhaps the most helpful. Pappas presents a “Small Church Healthy Assessment Tool,” as well as suggestions on how to use it and begin the process of intentional development of the small church. It builds effectively on the framework presented in the preceding chapters.
It is hard to overstate the value of this book in understanding the world of the small-membership congregation. Most recent authors who write on this subject refer to it frequently.
From the Publisher
What does ministering in small churches require? Leaders who are willing to enter into that world with wholehearted, unconditional love for their congregations. Tony Pappas shows how to do just that in this new edition of an old favorite that broadens and deepens his classic instruction on understanding small churches on their own terms. Grounded in proven principles, rich with anecdotes from real-life situations, and brimming with practical strategies, this is a fresh “must-read” for every small-church pastor. The volume includes a foreword by Douglas A. Walrath, author of Making It Work: Effective Administration in the Small Church.
Editorial Reviews
“Tony Pappas does it again! This second edition of Entering the World of the Small Church is new and improved, as indicated. Having used the first edition for a number of years and classes, I am delighted that it is safely back in the bookstore. While there are a number of new chapters, the one I find especially helpful and a useful guide for church sessions, governing councils, and pastors, is the chapter on ‘Assessing Congregational Health.’ There, with his characteristic light touch and commonsensical language, Tony helps us locate the right mix between the appreciation of tradtion and a willingness to innovate. A vital two-step, smoothly done and gracefully executed. Thank you, Alban Institute!” – Shannon Jung
“This book is alive with insights that can transform a ‘ho-hum’ experience of the small church into an ‘a-ha’ ministry. I’d recommend this valuable book to everyone connected with churches of small membership. Read and lead!” – Julia Kuhn Wallace
About the Author
Anthony G. Pappas is area minister for the American Baptist Churches of Massachusetts and the editor of The Five Stones, a newsletter on small church ministry.
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