A New Kind of Big: How Churches of Any Size Can Partner to Transform Communities

First a disclaimer… I am proud to call Chip Sweney my friend. That said, if his book sucked there is no way I would write a review. I would just quietly say, “Wow, buddy, that sure was interesting.”  I am writing this review because I believe its content is true and I seek to emulate this approach in what we do as a church in partnering with others for common causes of justice in our community.

Further, I see it as a template for other facets of ministry reproduction as well.

I loved this book for so many reasons. To make the review (hopefully) easier to read, I’ll bullet-point them here:

• this book is NOT about an individual church’s “do it like us” perspective
• this book is NOT a “wait ’til you become a megachurch” perspective
• this book IS humble yet honest
• this book IS valuable for the stories it tells
• this book IS valuable for the questions it answers
• this book IS valuable for the questions it asks
• this book IS valuable for the space it leaves for dreaming what BIG can be
• this book IS a potential template for all kinds of trans-denominational ministry
• this book SHOULD be a required reading textbook for anyone seeking justice for their city
• this book WILL become a modern classic

If you read only one book in 2011… this is your read. Thanks for sharing your journey, friend.