Develop a Discipleship System
Book Review: 'The Coming Revolution in Church Economics'
By Ken Sloane
By Mark Deymaz with Harry Li
Baker Books, Grand Rapids, 2019
This book’s full title is The Coming Revolution in Church Economics: Why Tithes and Offerings Are No Longer Enough and What You Can Do about It. Its authors are Mark Deymaz and Harry Li, two church entrepreneurs who helped launch the Mosaic Church in Central Arkansas. The energy and innovation they bring to their ministry and to the book is exciting and contagious.
The book has been recommended to me by several colleagues, but the first came from my own co-workers who resource church planters. We often say that church planters are like the research and development wing of the church. Without the constraints of buildings and a narrow view of the “way we’ve always done it,” they test ideas for the rest of our congregations. They dream big, pitch wild ideas, swing for the fences, and sometimes hit a grand slam.
[Church planters] dream big, pitch wild ideas, swing for the fences, and sometimes hit a grand slam.
You will find in these pages new ideas about organizing your congregation to do ministry, as well as some exciting possibilities for engaging with your community and growing your ability to make disciples. Some leaders will look at this book and say, “My people are not ready for this kind of change.” Didn’t we say that in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic?
In truth, the pandemic was a huge disruption to the “way we’ve always done it” mentality. Survival for our church required huge adaptation and innovation. Suddenly, our people were learning about video-conferencing our meetings and Bible studies. In the blink of an eye, clergy and laity were learning camera work, video editing, and audio engineering.
What better time to read a book like The Coming Revolution in Church Economics, as our churches begin to move out of the pandemic interruption. We are returning to a new normal—the one we knew before the pandemic is now history. Is your church ready to give some thought and discussion about the ideas suggested by these two missional entrepreneurs? You might just find your eyes opened to some new possibilities!
Ken Sloane is the Director of Stewardship & Generosity for Discipleship Ministries of The United Methodist Church.
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