12 Witnesses

Well, at least until Tuesday.

ie:missional » Update on JOURNEYS: Transitioning Churches To Relevance

They are submitting some typeset revisions to the printer and need for it to not be printed so that they can retool.

If you already got the book, don’t worry.  You didn’t get a defective one.  This is just Marty being perfectionistic - yes he has that in him.

The revisions are one chapter starting on the left hand side, fixing footnotes to read in a more standard way, etc.  All of which are the standard for the publishing industry, but don’t take away from the content you already have.

Marty Duren, along with his long time friend Pastor Todd Wright, have written a book now available from Missional Press. You can pre-order the book from the publisher, soon to be released via Amazon and others for the price of $11.99. Release date price will be $14.99.

The book has been lauded by Ed Stetzer (whose quote appears on the front cover), Frank Page, Dan Southerland and others. Let me add my words to theirs.

Wright and Duren alternate chapters in telling the stories of their churches’ transitions from conventional to a culturally engaged congregations in the south. Artfully and sometimes brutally telling of their struggles to overcome the barriers of a dying church culture, they tell of racism, power plays, honest confrontation, vision casting, personal introspection, compelling passion and the victories that have begun to gain momentum in their local churches.

I was struck by the back and forth of the alternating chapters that reminded me of great literature that would weave a story from several locations. The chapters coincide with one another, addressing similar themes, though there are marked differences in the stories.

I recommend this book to everyone, whether or not you are considering a change in your church’s structure. To understand what is motivating such changes is necessary for every church.

This book will challenge every reader and their understanding of what their actual church could be. It is not a book on theory. It is a book that will allow you to picture your church in your mind when thinking about the nitty gritty of accomplishing the Mission of God in the world.

As it is released, it is going to become required reading for our church’s leadership, and we are going to stock some for sale out of our church’s library.