I really like the idea of a book of the month. Why not let you know what I’m reading and invite discussion? That’s it. Its official!
The “UU Growth Blog Book of the Month” for December 2009 is The Almost Church Revisited, by Michael Durall. Perfect for some inspired action come the new year. This title is not a reworking of the original Almost Church but an entire new edition.
You can order it from the UUA Bookstore here or directly through Durall’s Vital Congregations website with great discounts for bulk orders.
Have ideas for a future book of the month? Comment below.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1. A Public or a Private Church?
Chapter 2. Why Unitarian Universalism Hasnít Grown and How To Turn That Around
Chapter 3. Leadership Makes It or Breaks It
Chapter 4. Creating Committed Members: New Ideas, Lasting Results
Chapter 5. Focus on Things That Are Important
Chapter 6. Making the Annual Pledge Drive Obsolete
Chapter 7. Five Helpful Heresies
Afterword: My Plea to Unitarian Universalism
Loved The Almost Church and The Almost Church: Revitalized!
A few others I’ve enjoyed thoroughly and recommend
highly…
A Tale of Boxes by Rev. Robert Latham
Moving On From Church Folly Lane by Rev. Robert Latham
(both can be found at http://www.mythinglink.com)
Kicking Habits by Thomas Bandy
Activate by Nelson Searcy
Community of Kindness by Sjogren
Leadership on the Other Side by Bill Easum
He is right on the shifts we need to make; a UU version of Reggie McNeal’s Missional Renaissance; I was disappointed but not surprised that many/some readers didn’t like or get his excerpt article in the UU World. Starting where he does with shift to public church is crucial because all other decisions are affected by that; I will blog more on my site and hope we can keep getting more folks to read him if they won’t McNeil et al, who by the way suffers the same blowback in his own denomination he told me.