When Church Stops Working - by Andrew Root & Blair D Bertrand (Paperback)

About the Book

To face the crisis of decline, the church seeks more resources and people, but it is never enough. Two ministry leaders show that this busyness blinds the church to its real crisis: it can no longer see and hear the God it purports to worship. The church must actively wait for God to act in a way that brings life out of death.

Book Synopsis

What if the solution for the decline of today's church isn't more money, people, programs, innovation, or busyness?

What if the answer is to stop and wait on God?

In When Church Stops Working, ministry leaders Andrew Root and Blair Bertrand show how actively watching and listening for God can bring life out of death for churches in crisis today. Using clear steps and practices, they invite church leaders to stop the endless cycle of doing more and rather to simply "be" in God's presence. They tell the story of two congregations who did this--and found new life in the process.

When Church Stops Working distills the core themes of Root's critically acclaimed Ministry in a Secular Age series in a more accessible form. Leaders and churchgoers who are burned out and hopeless will experience affirmation, encouragement, and empowerment as Root and Bertrand turn to the book of Acts as well as examples from contemporary congregational life to show what "active" waiting looks like and the saving grace it can hold.

From the Back Cover

Your Church Needs Help. What Now?

What if the solution for the decline of today's church isn't more money, people, programs, innovation, or busyness?

What if the answer is to stop and wait on God?

When Church Stops Working shows how actively watching and listening for God can bring life out of death for churches in crisis today.

"This book seeks to address where we are by reminding us of who God is and who we are. It is a profoundly hope-giving book. The church needs teachers like this."
--The Most Rev. Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury

"This book will draw every leader and Jesus follower who wonders what could work today into a deeper, more faith-full relationship with the God who is always working."
--Kara Powell, executive director, Fuller Youth Institute; chief of leadership formation, Fuller Seminary

"Root and Bertrand make clear that we must put away our strategies and gimmicks and wait on the Lord all over again. I pray we all would follow this brilliantly antiprogrammatic counsel."
--Jason Byassee, senior pastor, Timothy Eaton Memorial Church, Toronto; coauthor of Faithful and Fractured: Responding to the Clergy Health Crisis

"We're all feeling the crisis of church decline and frantically trying to fix the problem. This groundbreaking book proposes that we've misdiagnosed the problem and that our supposed treatment is actually making things worse. It offers both a better diagnosis and a helpful, human way forward."
--Mandy Smith, pastor and author of Unfettered: Imagining a Childlike Faith beyond the Baggage of Western Culture and The Vulnerable Pastor

"Rejecting pithy slogans and slick approaches, this book challenges us to think first about God's place in our church and, in the process, rediscover just how beautiful her life might become once again."
--Steve Bezner, senior pastor, Houston Northwest Church

About the Author

Andrew Root (PhD, Princeton Theological Seminary) is Carrie Olson Baalson Professor of Youth and Family Ministry at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is a frequent speaker, has written more than twenty books, and hosts the When Church Stops Working podcast.

Blair D. Bertrand (PhD, Princeton Theological Seminary) is a lecturer at Zomba Theological University, teaching consultant with Theological Education by Extension Malawi, and adjunct lecturer at Tyndale University, Toronto. He has served various congregations as an ordained minister and lives in Ottawa, Ontario.