Who Stole My Church? What to Do When the Church You Love Tries to Enter the 21st Century
Gordon MacDonald
Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2007, 272 pp., $21.99,
www.thomasnelson.com
Moving from resisting change to reinventing the church is the focus of author and pastor Gordon MacDonald’s latest book.
Through a fictional case study of an aging congregation in New England, Who Stole My Church? chronicles a pastor’s attempt to help a small group of involved members “adjust to the inexorable force of church change, to grow in the process, and to be guides to others in need of the same experience.” There are plenty of accomplishments and setbacks for the self-named “Discovery Group” as they journey through questions about redefining music and worship, evangelism strategies rooted in belonging verses believing, and even a proposed name change.
MacDonald goes a little far when indulging some of the fictional accounts. However, underneath is a sincere message for church staff and members wrestling with how to bridge the common divide existing between the preferences and expectations of the current generation of adults and the emerging generation of young people.
