Becoming a Blessed Church

Forming a Church of Spiritual Purpose, Presence, and Power

By (author) N. Graham Standish Foreword by E. Stanley Ott

Publication date:

08 May 2016

Length of book:

300 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9781566997928

Pastor and author N. Graham Standish describes how a church that is open to God’s purpose, presence, and power can claim God’s blessing. Standish shares the story of Calvin Presbyterian Church in Zelienople, Pennsylvania, and its journey to become a spiritually deep congregation, one that is inwardly and outwardly healthy: spiritually, psychologically, physically, and relationally. Becoming a Blessed Church will help you discern God’s purpose and the path God is calling your congregation to walk. This book will help you find Christ in your midst and become aware of the many ways the blessings of God’s Spirit flow through your congregation. This second edition includes three new practical chapters that answer the questions the author is most frequently asked: how to effectively run a group discernment practice, how to create an effective small group program, and how to set a church vision in a new direction that actually works.

Foreword by Stanley Ott
Preface to the Second Edition
Part I. Becoming a Blessed Church

What Is a Blessed Church?
Setting a Spiritual Foundation

Part II. Forming a Church of Purpose, Presence, and Power

Grounded in God’s Purpose
Alive to God’s Presence
Open to God’s Power

Part III. Leading a Church to Blessedness

Leading a Church to Listen
Leading a Church to Deepen
Leading a Church through Transformation

Appendices

Assessing the Church’s Spiritual Openness
Calvin Presbyterian Church, Session Agenda
Discerning God’s Purpose for the Church
Discerning Direction for a Particular Issue
A Prayerful Process for Discerning Committee Budgets
All-Committee Budgeting Process
Guiding Members to Give
Sample Stewardship Letters and Campaign Circular
A Guide to Healing Prayer
Guidelines for Nominating Committee Members

A Process for Nominating Committee Meetings

Becoming an Elder at Calvin Presbyterian Church
A Guide to Holding Spiritually Grounded Meetings
Four Principles of Discernment
A Guide to Creating a Prayer Group

Prayer Group Covenant

Suggestions for Small Group Readings

I am deeply grateful to Graham Standish for his thoughtful, practical, and inspiring masterpiece, Becoming a Blessed Church. Now, if anyone asks me to recommend one book that a church's leaders could read together to help them envision a better, more vibrant future, this is where I'll point them. He presents a vision that is accessible to and legitimate for churches across the spectrum because it gets beyond old polarities—evangelical, mainline, traditional, contemporary, etc.—and leads to a better, richer, more fruitful path.