Closing the Back Door of the Church
by Ron Kallmier and Andy Peck
Paperback
Price: £8.99
Publisher:CWR (Crusade for World Revival)
Published:September 2009
ISBN:978-1-853-45483-7
GoodBookStall Review:
This publication emerges from a series of CWR seminars looking at why folk leave the church. In one sense there is nothing in this book that has not been said elsewhere.
As an avid follower of the research into why church numbers are falling I have read a great deal of the statistical analysis produced by Peter Brierley’s Christian Research organisation. I am also familiar with Gone but not Forgotten by Phillip Richer and Leslie J Francis and A Churchless Faith by Alan Jamieson. However, at only one hundred and thirty-three pages Closing the Back Door of the Church is an excellent digest of these works and others. Through six easy-to-read chapters Kallmier and Peck introduce the reader to the issues surrounding church departure and suggest a number of possible solutions. Furthermore, each chapter concludes with several thought-provoking questions. This makes the book a useful tool for discussion groups or leadership teams to grapple with issues that their church may be facing.
The book concludes with two lists of further reading entitled ‘Must-Read books’ and ‘Other books relevant to the 21st century’. These lists are a valuable resource for anyone taking the question of church leavers seriously.
If you are looking for a well researched and yet easy way into the complex issues that lie behind declining numbers in church Closing the Back Door of the Church is a good place to begin.
Reviewer: Steve Langford (06/05/10)
This publication emerges from a series of CWR seminars looking at why folk leave the church. In one sense there is nothing in this book that has not been said elsewhere.
As an avid follower of the research into why church numbers are falling I have read a great deal of the statistical analysis produced by Peter Brierley’s Christian Research organisation. I am also familiar with Gone but not Forgotten by Phillip Richer and Leslie J Francis and A Churchless Faith by Alan Jamieson. However, at only one hundred and thirty-three pages Closing the Back Door of the Church is an excellent digest of these works and others. Through six easy-to-read chapters Kallmier and Peck introduce the reader to the issues surrounding church departure and suggest a number of possible solutions. Furthermore, each chapter concludes with several thought-provoking questions. This makes the book a useful tool for discussion groups or leadership teams to grapple with issues that their church may be facing.
The book concludes with two lists of further reading entitled ‘Must-Read books’ and ‘Other books relevant to the 21st century’. These lists are a valuable resource for anyone taking the question of church leavers seriously.
If you are looking for a well researched and yet easy way into the complex issues that lie behind declining numbers in church Closing the Back Door of the Church is a good place to begin.
Reviewer: Steve Langford (06/05/10)
