Our church has been in the process of studying Reggie McNeal's book "The Present Future". If your church wants to make sure that it is prepared for the future God has planned, this might make an interesting place to start. The book is well-written, easy-to-grasp, and well-supported ... though perhaps challenging for many churches to live out.

A few key points I got from the book ...

There is still a place for what we consider to be "traditional" church but, increasingly, culture is moving toward seeking God wherever it is at, not through heirarchy or liturgy.

The church must focus on God's mission of saving the world.

Church growth and Kingdom growth are not necessarily one and the same.

People are seeking God in their lives, not fancy buildings or professional performances or a lot of "canned" speeches.

"Church" can (and in my opinion "should") be wherever people are gathered.

People need to be released to do the ministry God calls them to, not forced to fit into already-in-place "cookie cutter" ministries.

The church needs to be what people are seeking.

McNeal supports the idea of a flat organizational structure ... something which I am a big proponent of (and must blog about someday). In today's world, things happen too fast ... you cannot have a "super leader" and a lot of levels of beauracracy. People on the front lines of any organization must own the mission and vision of the organization, and then have the knowledge, resources, and empowerment to fulfill those.

Mentoring and "life coaching" are more conducive to spiritual formation than just telling people to "straighten up and fly right" and fit into that round hole over there.

There is no better example of how to engage people in real life than Jesus.

There is a difference between "planning" and "preparation". Not that "planning" is bad but what God really calls us to do is "prepare" the fields for His work.

Keep score of the things that show fulfillment of your mission ... not just meeting numbers.

Don't just sit there. Ya gotta do something. Keep learning. Keep preparing for what God has in store.