Reggie McNeal

Summary: An affirmation of kingdom-centered rather than church-centered leadership and a description of eight signature practices that characterize such leaders.

Reggie McNeal coaches Christian leaders. One of his greatest concerns is that many have a vision that is church-centric rather than kingdom-centric. He describes the latter as "kingdom collaborators," because they are engaged in what God wants to do so that his kingdom would come in the world beyond the church walls, in every sector of society. He argues that church-centric vision comes from a vision of church as institution that is siloed off from other institutions--business, government, arts and media, the social sector, education, and health care. He argues instead for a vision of "church as movement" that encourages people to collaborate with God as kingdom agents in all of these domains, and outside the church building walls.

The book then argues for eight key practices that he sees kingdom collaborators demonstrating in their work:

1. They practice a robust prayer life that helps them listen to and look for God.
2. They foment dissatisfaction with the status quo.
3. They combine social and spiritual entrepreneurship.
4. They marry vision with action.
5. They shape a people development culture.
6. They curry curiosity.
7. They call the party in their city for collaborative initiatives.
8. They maintain an optimism amid the awareness that the kingdom has not yet fully come.

McNeal devotes a chapter to each of these practices, giving practical, step by step pointers in implementing these practices mixed with stories that exemplify each practice. I find his ideas incredibly helpful. He roots kingdom collaboration in a prayerful life. He talks about agitating to foment dissatisfaction in constructive ways rather destructive ways that lead to dismissal. He describes a combination of social and spiritual entrepreneurship that sees opportunities, that is willing to risk and fail and practices abundance thinking. His chapter on marrying vision and action has powerful insights into work with volunteers. One could expand his chapter on people development into a book. He talks about the essential character of leaders as people with a lifelong sense of curiosity, and observes how many of them are avid readers. He argues for how effective kingdom collaborators convene and collaborate with others.

His eighth practice of maintaining pain-tinged optimism speaks to the challenge of sustaining leadership over the long haul. If prayer is the foundation of the life of a kingdom collaborator, then the practices he commends to address burnout and compassion fatigue are the capstone.

He concludes with some tips for accelerating impact, whether as church leaders wanting to have kingdom impact, or those working in other domains. For church leaders, he argues that three things are necessary:

Change the storyline.
Change the scorecard.
Change the stewardship of your organization leaders.

For those serving in other domains, he suggests that while you might be tempted to address other pressing needs, leading where you are is the starting place, then networking with other kingdom leaders. Especially, he urges people to "become better at being you."

I can think of many "marketplace Christians" I've known over the years that I would have loved to give this book. Many were excited about the opportunities for kingdom impact in their sphere of influence, but felt guilty that this meant they could not do more in the church. Most found little encouragement for a "kingdom-centric" lifestyle. At worst, they often felt their work was denigrated, except for the money they could donate to the church. This book comes as a breath of fresh air for such folks, speaking a language and affirming practices many have already intuited.

It is also a critical book for church leaders who tend to measure impact in terms of what is happening within the church walls, or through the church's direct efforts. As important as these are (and the author does not dismiss them), McNeal casts a vision for what people might be engaged in for the sake of Christ and his kingdom in all the hours they devote in other domains. And the eight practices in this book suggest areas where the church might serve to equip young kingdom collaborators for maximum impact (this is where his chapter on a people development culture is so important, I think). Wouldn't it be a great vision to think about equipping people to be viral kingdom agents in the 40-50 hours many spend in their work, rather than for just a few hours a week in church functions? Reggie McNeal thinks so.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.… (altro)

The book has some great ideas on how to be missional; however, the motivation for being missional is off. McNeal seems to put forth that the church is called to be blessing as opposed to make disciples. His scorecard contains tracking community service hours and number of kids tutored but not once does he mention people actually coming to salvation in Jesus. He simply says that when we bless others they will be curious as to why. He never seems to put that forth as a goal or something to track. He also feels the need to tear down the traditional church throughout the entire book. He will drop a sentence here and there to try and show his support for the church but the rest of book states other wise. Yes the traditional church needs to go through some major changes but the book could have lead with his positive thoughts without constantly contrasting with the shortcomings of the church. - By the end of the book I could not tell the difference between McnNeal's ideas of being missional and the local Lion's Club… (altro)

Overall I loved Missional Renaissance by Reggie McNeal. I agree that the North American church is off-base and in need of some change. I agree that we have lost our identity as the people of God. I agree that we need to be more outward focused, people oriented, and kingdom based. Sometimes, though, it seems like Reggie has a very narrow view of what The Church is and takes some things a little too far. In fact, I wonder if what Reggie is encouraging is a missional church or a postmodern church. Every church should be missional, but not every church should be postmodern. If we simply exchange modern for postmodern we won’t have accomplished anything, but if the changes in culture push us to be more biblical the church will be healthier as a result.

Reggie mentions personal development as a recent cultural shift. He goes on to say that “achieving abundant life will require intentional personal development.” This is simply not true! Abundant life doesn’t come through personal development, it comes through the life, death, resurrection, ascension atonement that Jesus has provided for us. Jesus came to bring life and to bring it in abundance. In this instance it seems that Reggie has confused some healthy and good shifts in our culture with the basic Christian message. Yes, if we are following Jesus we will experience personal development, but if we are seeking personal development it will not automatically provide us with abundant life.

Aside from this, I do appreciate McNeal’s focus on following Jesus being a matter of real life, not just church life. I regularly say to my church family, “Church isn’t what happens at church.” Also, his focus on our identity is important. The North American church is in the midst of an identity crisis, and many don’t even realize it. We no longer understand who we are (and, as Reggie points out, rather than asking who we are we’re still asking what we are). But the place to start finding our identity is not in the world around us, its not in our culture or even in ourselves, it is in Jesus. To this end, I appreciated the emphasis on prayer at every turn. Only when we have a burning desire to know God and His desires for the Church and the world will we truly find our identity in Christ and begin to live for him in the nitty gritty of real life.

I do wish that the book offered more concrete help in making the transition from transitional church to missional. I couldn’t help but feel like Reggie felt the need to convince the reader at every turn that missional was necessary. Hasn’t he written other books to that end? The chapters on developing the new scorecard seemed shallow at times with little practical advice and often no guidance in how the transition can occur. He mentions changing culture by changing the conversations, but he never gives any advice on how to go about doing that. He mentions new ways to “score” church, but never really says how you go about changing to the new scoring method or letting go of the old.

In the end, this book is a helpful starting point, but it seems like there is a lot missing. The total content of the book could have been presented in one-third of the number of pages; the rest of the book is him trying to make his argument convincing. However, I do think that this is a book I will go back to many times as I try to find ways of moving my own church from an internal to an external perspective.

We don’t need a post-modern church, we need a Christian church. Inasmuch as this book encourages and builds the true church, we are indebted to his work.
… (altro)

Once again I'm forced to write a review of a Christian leadership book and once again, I'm of two minds.

If the idea of delving into scripture to mine leadership qualities doesn't bother you, then this book is one of the best that I've read.

McNeal begins by examining the lives of Moses, David, Paul, and Jesus to see how leadership qualities are evident in their lives. McNeal rightly emphasizes the importance heart-formation through remaining close to God and allowing him to change you.

In the second half of the book, McNeal examines six areas where the leader's qualities are worked out:

1) Culture
2) Call
3) Community
4) Communion
5) Conflict
6) Commonplace

I was privileged to read this book through with a Bible College student in a mentoring relationship. There was always plenty of material and insights to discuss.

Here are a few of my problems with leadership books in general. The Bible doesn't speak about leadership—shepherding and servanthood are the key metaphors.

Furthermore, the idea that there is a separate class of people who operate on a special "leadership" level seems foreign to the thrust of the New Testament. Jesus' disciples didn't look like people with high-level leadership qualities. They became effective once they were empowered by the Spirit.

We should examine what we mean by "leadership qualities," too. Don't we mean the sort of personal characteristics that make people successful in the business world today? What right do we have to dive anachronistically through scripture in an attempt to uncover these 21st century values?

On a hermentutical level, why do we assume that the personal qualities of people like Moses and David are qualities we should emulate? Scripture is the story of how God used these people—not how they were skilled enough to be used.

There you have it. If you enjoy the "christian leadership" genre, this is one of the best on the topic. If you share my reservations, leave this book on the shelf.… (altro)