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Rating: 
Summary: The best book on planting for young and emerging planters
Review: Ed combines the insights of both a respected theoretician and experience of a successful church planter into a very accessible and insightful book. I help oversee the Acts 29 church planting network and have read just about everything on the subject. Without reservation I can recommend Ed's work as a must read. I wish it had been out before I planted my church, Mars Hill, as it would have been tremendously helpful.
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Summary: A Necessary Book for All Church Planters
Review: Ed Stetzer has written a book that should be required reading for all church planters! His description of the postmodern world we now live in is worth the price of the book.
Stetzer's book is focused on practical application. The goal of this book is to help the planter in the field know what to do.
Rating:
Summary: A Necessary Book for All Church Planters
Review: Ed Stetzer has written a book that should be required reading for all church planters! His description of the postmodern world we now live in is worth the price of the book.
Stetzer's book is focused on practical application. The goal of this book is to help the planter in the field know what to do.
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Summary: This book rocks!
Review: Great book. Four stars because Stetzer goes into huge details. I like a fast read.
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Summary: One of few church planting books with good theology
Review: I was very impressed with the book. It begins with a good theology based on biblical teaching-- very unusual in much of church planting and a lot of "emerging church" books. Stezer explains that good theology leads to good methodology. Unlike some, he does not de-emphaize theology or, for that matter, re-invent it.
After building a good theology, he then explains how we are to reach our community by using good missiology. That is where some of the more cultural issues are addressed.
The last part of the book is practical "how to" material.
It is a big book, but worth the read. Very thorough and helpful. We plant our church in a few months and our whole team is reading it.
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Summary: Unfortunate book that misses the reality of postmodernism
Review: On first glance, this book looks like a re-write of Malphurs' detailed guide that was (is?) the de facto standard for the modern contemporary church planter. After a detailed reading, this book still looks like a re-write of Malphurs' guide.Every turn of the page brings a detailed and in-depth strategy for adding "postmodern" style to a modern contemporary church. A section on picking a name suggests cliche "edgy" names. According to this book, "postmodern" worship involves adding some candles and coffee to a modern/contemporary service. In each chapter, the author confuses style with substance - enticing the church planter to change the first but never address the second. Many churches and planters will attempt to address the postmodern cultural shift by only adapting in style. This move away from what is known to them is a useful and necessary first step on the path to understanding the substantial shifts that will be required for the church to be a meaningful experience for the emgerging generations. However, it would be more useful for everyone involved if we did not attempt to plant churches in this vein - ie, not fully understanding the new culture outside the walls of Christendom. Pass on this book, continue your journey of evolution, and plant a church only after you have realized that a "postmodern" church is not one that attempts to plaster a cool or edgy exterior over a 16th century Protestant Reformation faith.
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Summary: The Real Thing
Review: This book and this author are the real thing. I just completed the resident portion of a doctoral program for church leaders and preachers. Many of us were leaving to plant churches and we all agreed that this was far and away the most helpful of the 100+ books we read this year. More church planting books have been published over the last two years than at any other time in history. We read most of them. Some were heavy on theory. Some emphasized fads. Some seemed more intent on creating a new lexicon than offering practical help. This books stands above the rest in that Stetzer hit the sweet spot every preacher dreams about - it's the intersection of biblical truth with real life. For any church planter who is in the "real life" trenches of planting churches in a postmodern culture, that kind of practical help is a welcomed relief. As Ed paints a picture of our sending God and his heart for this emerging culture, he weaves in the most practical wisdom for those who would answer the high and holy call to be postmodern missionaries. As I've navigated the whitewaters of church planting in an urban context in Atlanta, GA, I've returned to this text so many times that it is dog-eared, underlined, highlighted, and tattered. I bought two more copies. A new one for me and one to give the next church planter I meet. This is great stuff.
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Summary: Helpful and Challenging
Review: This is one of the "deeper" church planting books that I have read. It has caused me to reflect on the challenges ahead and the tools that I will need (from theology to marketing). Stetzer helps the planter make the transition to being a missionary in thought and action. Very good...but eat your wheaties before you begin.
Rating:
Summary: Helpful and Challenging
Review: This is one of the "deeper" church planting books that I have read. It has caused me to reflect on the challenges ahead and the tools that I will need (from theology to marketing). Stetzer helps the planter make the transition to being a missionary in thought and action. Very good...but eat your wheaties before you begin.
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Summary: Raise Your Church Planting IQ
Review: Thom Rainer's (Effective Evangelistic Churches) research has proven it -- the most evangelistic churches plant churches. Stetzer's book contextualizes church planting through examining postmodernism. What are pomos like, how can we reach them for Christ, and how will that affect the way we "do" church? Stetzer proposes relevant answers to these questions. Stetzer's book provides a comprehensive treatment of church planting. Ed was a successful church planter and now trains church planters. He understands the world of church planting.
He addresses practical ideas from launch to church structure. The book is full of illustrations, websites, and other books for further research. Plenty of suggestions and advice is given throughout.Church planters will love this book! Stetzer provides strong philosophical, theological, and historical foundations of church planting. The book would be great to use in an academic setting. Is your church considering the transition to a church planting church? Steter provides all the information you need to take the next step. Your mission leaders seeking to understand the new church planting phenom in America will benefit greatly from this book and be inspired to act. Church planters, pastors, mission leaders, teachers, and professors . . . this may sound a bit clithe' but if you can only buy one book about church planting, this is it!
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