I am a huge fan of Thom Rainer. I should mention that in the beginning. I have read all his books, read his blog, and follow a lot of his advice. I was so excited to receive this one for review.

This book is about church change and what goes into proposing healthy and church transforming change. Rainer's advice to couch everything in prayer is some of the most sound advice. His other advice, such as get a team to help support seems like a no brainer. It is funny how much of this advice seems intuitive, but so many pastors I know do not follow it.

I really enjoyed this one and thought it was a good companion to his book Autopsy of a Deceased Congregation. I gave this one 4 stars.

*I wish to thank NetGalley and B&H Books for the opportunity to read this early. I received it for free in exchange for an honest review. ( )

In the book Who Moved My Pulpit, Thomas S. Rainer has produced nothing short of a manual for the average church leader (Pastor/Minister/Elder/Staff/Lay Member) to begin a new work, project, or change in a methodical and successful manner. The book highlights eight steps by which, when employed, will help build the backing for a project, encourage others in their participation in the beginning of the project, and then to not only implement the project but also how to maintain the desired impetus. Although successful implementation of a desired change is the focus of the work, the examples used point more to a change in the “traditional” method by which something is done or accomplished – there is NO focus in the work of using the principles discussed for the implementation of changes to doctrine or orthodoxy.

The principles discussed in the work would be applicable to any situation in which a leader or the leadership of an organization, seeks to embark upon an effort to introduce and implement a new method of operation. Of course, since Rainer has produced this work specifically for the leadership of a Church, there are obvious and expected reference to the Scriptures – for which one is appreciative.

The book itself is rather small. Physically measuring 5x7 and 143 pages, and a word count of approximately 25,000 words, it can easily be conquered in one or two sittings if so desired, but the small packaging belies the grand thought presented. The overall method, or steps, involved in the process of effecting the desired change (which are also chapter divisions) are: Stop and Pray, Confront and Communicate a Sense of Urgency, Build an Eager Coalition, Become a Voice and Vision of Hope, Deal with People Issues, Move from an Inward Focus to an Outward Focus, Pick Low-Hanging Fruit, and Implement and Consolidate Change. The individual parts of the process as seen by Rainer will not be discussed, one is encouraged to buy the book and discover the specifics of the process for themselves, but by simply reading the steps in the process one is able to catch a sense of what Rainer is presenting. For those new to the positions of leadership, and even those that have long been involved in leadership positions, the discussion of each step will help by giving a mental roadmap to the overall process to be followed and what pitfalls may be expected. Church or organizational politics and personal interactions can be difficult of the novice and expert alike, so Rainer’s insights will certainly help leaders to focus on the discrete aspects of the process.

There were two facets of this work that one might see as a difficulty – one related direct to the work, one related to the potential. Never let it be said that Rainer didn’t recognize that truth that God is in the work of the church. As noted, “This book rather is a collection of stories of how God has used leader to move toward change and progress. It is the story of the work of God in God’s churches” (28). One applauds Rainer for the acknowledgment of this truth; yet, repeatedly Rainer makes such statements as: “my church,” “your church,” their church,” and “our church.” Of course, one recognizes that when speaking of how a leader interacts with a congregation with whom he works, it is easy to fall into a type of verbiage that is used not so much to identify possession of the Church, but inclusion with a group of people. One certainly understands why writers use this type of language, but this language only reinforces the division that underlies a denominational mindset. It is understood that many may see this as a petty critique, but the recognition of the Church in its universal sense should never be slighted.

The second critique is related to the potential use that a work such as this may be employed. As already stated, Rainer NEVER implies that the steps outlined in this work should also be applied to enact a change of doctrine; but (and it’s a big but), the steps and methods outlined could just as easily be used to incite doctrinal change as well. There are people in the world that do seek to change doctrine to their own taste, and truthfully the methods outlined would also produce those results. Therefore, while one recognizes that Rainer has made a wonderful book by which leaders may effectively lead a congregation to or thru a change, those same leaders – now aware of the process – should use this knowledge to maintain their vigilance in the service of the Lord.

Quotes from the book:

“One of the principles of leadership in any congregation, particularly a local church, is the law of unintended consequences” (11).

“Effective change leadership in the church will not take place in human power; it can only come from God” (41).

“If you love change more than you love people, you have already failed as a leader” (79).

“Change usually does not take place until church members see positive evidence that it is good for the church” (96).

“As a rule of thumb, once leaders are sick and tired of hearing themselves say the same thing over and over again, that is the beginning point of effective communication” (116). ( )

Very practical guide in leading a church through change. Steps are provided to help a church move to a place of fulfilling the Great Commission without alienating those resistant to any change. Very good resource, though the size of these books means that you probably will need to supplement with more detailed works. Still, this is a very valuable resource, as the meat of the book is very accessible, as that's basically all that's included. ( )