Autopsy of a Deceased Church

Very interesting as well as on point. Must refer to others.

I must have been at the churches described by Mr. Rainer. He gives real life examples in the most basic and simplest way you can. This book is an excellent tool that allows you to identify issues and with some prayer and thought allow the reader to identify and correct issues.

Autopsy of a Deceased Church is a small but practical book written by Thom Rainer, current president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources. If you’ve been in church ministry for any length of time, you probably know of Mr. Rainer from one of his twenty-something books or via his blog, ThomRainer.com, which deals with such subjects as leadership and the local church.The book, which is barely over 100 pages, is a glimpse into Rainer’s visits of fourteen different churches, all but one already having closed their doors. Rainer talks about these churches and points out ten characteristics – rather, warning signs – of a dying church.For me, Autopsy of a Deceased Church brought back specific instances of my time as a pastor on staff at, what I would call, a dying church. I couldn’t help but think, “Yeah, that’s true. Oh, I can relate to that…” and so on.As one commenter wrote, “This book isn’t a solutions guide. It’s a wake-up call.” And I very much agree. Rainer’s take, from my understanding of working with pastors who have experienced such situations first hand, is spot on. I don’t think another person could’ve written this book or given it the treatment it deserved, other than Rainer.However, this being my sole issue with the book, I don’t think the right people are going to read it. Yes, pastors and church leaders should definitely read this book, as well as elders and deacons. In fact, I’d encourage church leadership to read through each of the characteristics of these dying churches together, and walk through how their church could benefit from taking Rainer’s advice. But, at the end of the day, I’m not quite sure those who really need to read the book actually will.Nevertheless, the book was solid, and I’d encourage anyone in active and non-active ministry to read and heed the advice given.

I received this book about 18 hours ago and I just finished it. This book, along with "I Am A Church Member," is an exceptional book to be given to people in church leadership. It may scare new members away. This book is the product of many requests of Dr. Rainer to expand his blog article of the same title. There are three types of churches addressed by Rainer: Those showing signs of sickness, Those that are sick, and Those that are dying. Most of his information was gleaned from a study of 14 churches that closed their doors. He offers 10 signs of a church in trouble and he offers four suggestions for each of the three types of churches (Types are churches showing signs of sickness, churches that are sick, and those dying).The autopsy reveals ten characteristics of approximately 375,000 churches. I extrapolate this number from the fact that 40% of the churches he estimates, numbers 150,000. Thus, 150000 divided by .4 is 375,000. Rainer claims 10% are healthy, so 337,500 churches are sick, real sick, or dying. I'm not sure of the research paramaters since there are more churches than this in America. There are even more conservative churches than this more than likelyThe ten characteristics of 375 K American churches are slow erosion, the past is considered the hero, the church does not look like the community, the budget moves inward, the Great Commission is ignored, the church is driven by preferences, pastoral tenure is decreasing, the church rarely prays together, the church has no clear purpose, and the church is obsessed over the facilities.Rainer does a great job of describing the inward focus of the sick church. You can look at pastoral job descriptions and see the problem often times. I saw a job description that actually placed visitation between prayer and Bible study. At least the church did not leave out prayer. However, as long as the pastor visits the people (as his deacons should be doing even more than him), he can give a 15 minute homily from Guideposts with a cute joke. Rainer also pointed out this "country club" mentality in his previous book, "I Am A Church Member."One of Rainer's silent areas was very telling. I noticed he did not talk about Orthodoxy or heresy. He probably only interviewed conservative churches. In my own ministry, I have had little problems with liberal theology. I have dealt with much theological apathy and ignorance but not too much liberalism or post-modernism. Conservative churches fail every day and it has nothing to do with liberal theology. The fact is, many churches have a very liberal model (ordaining women, leadership growing politically liberal, at least Neo-Orthodox views of the Bible), however, they do missions, make changes, and reach out and still grow!It is a shame when churches that are a-theological or liberal can make converts to a false Jesus and those who believe in the Only Savior Jesus Christ and Him Alone die! It's outrageous.Would I change a few things about the book? Maybe. My book would be a little different and sell a lot less (for good reason! Dr. Rainer is a much more equipped researcher and writer than I am).1) Rainer does mention that the dying church should consider giving their assets to another 501-C3. I would have added that doctrinal fidelity is important. I would not want to see a Bible teaching, conservative church sell to an apostate liberal denomination or cult. I'm sure Rainer agrees. He just did not point that out.2) I would like to have seen his methodology spelled out in a little better detail.3) The option of replanting a church could have been mentioned. However, "merging" with an existing church and turning leadership over to them is a good idea. Also, the idea of giving the church to another group could be seen as replanting.4) Church discipline and replacing bad leaders with good leaders are also probably very good options in some cases even though this can often not be done. Lack of church discipline and appointment of theologically ignorant leaders generally causes the decline.All in all, this book is a 4.5, so let's go for 5! Thanks Dr. Rainer!

In "Autopsy of a Deceased Church", Thom Rainer seeks to warn churches about the signs of a church that is in danger of dying. To discern the marks of an unhealthy church, Rainer studies a multitude of deceased churches to find out why they died and use that research to help the many churches that have plateaued. Even healthy churches must be on the lookout for these signs of stagnation lest they be deceived into thinking everything is going fine when they are slowing declining. The author uses the story of how he returned to his hometown and was struck by how much the town had changed while those who lived there didn't notice as a warning of how slow incremental change can blind us to the truth (12). Many plateaued churches do not realize the danger they are in or that they are showing signs of trouble. As many as 100,000 churches are showing signs of decline and are in danger of dying (7). Churches decline because they become inwardly focused instead of outwardly focused on reaching the community for Christ (22). Prayer and evangelism are not prioritized and selfish division divides and prevents the church from carrying out her God-given task.The past becomes the hero as the members look to the "good old days" through nostalgia-tinted glasses rather than focusing on the present mission of the church and our responsibility to reach the lost for Christ. The community around the church changed while they remained the same. The church became "a fortress" where any change was strongly resisted (27). The budget moved inwardly rather than using church funds to help the community. These churches were not involved in local or world missions, and in dong so, forgot the great commission entirely (39). They were not willing to do the hard work of evangelism and so they died protecting their comfort (44).The membership roles were filled with people who rarely ever came to church, but they made sure to come to the business meeting so that no changes could take place (48). Pastors came and went rather than having someone who the members could rely on. The Wednesday night prayer meeting was not emphasized and personal prayer was neglected. Rainer writes that "a failure to pray was tantamount to a failure to breath" (67). These churches had lost their way because they had lost their vision. They made the focus their facilities instead of the lostness of their community. They fought in church business meetings over the smallest changes and resisted moving toward changes that could have saved their life. They were collecting treasures on earth instead of laying up treasures in heaven (81).But fortunately, Christ offers hope for dying churches and Rainer lays out twelve ways a church can recover and reach the lost for Christ. The church must dedicate itself to self-examination to discover what needs to be changed and pray for the courage to do it. They must evangelize their community and reach out to those in need. They must be willing to make hard decisions and pray for the strength to put that plan into action. They must be outwardly focused instead of inwardly focused and that takes the whole church working together for a common goal.Rainer's work is a reminder that churches die when they are not living in light of eternity. Churches need visionary leaders who can cast a vision and help the church trust in the Lord again (Prov 3:5). They must recover their first love (Rev 2:4). Pastors and teachers can be instruments of change in the hand of God by setting an example of what it looks like to witness about Christ to the community around them and by leading the people of God to embrace the vital importance of personal prayer. They must lead the church in works of service, evangelism, counseling, and model Christlikeness in their life and preaching. When the pastor gives sacrificially, the congregation is much more likely to respond to the call for change and outreach to see their friends and neighbors find the forgiveness that Christ offers in the gospel. May God use this book to give boldness and courage to his church for their good and Christ's glory.

Shallow minds for the word!

If you are wondering why your church isn't growing... Gives lots of why other churches didn't grow. Gives insight to what to change.

Excellent short read. He does a great job phrasing the content so people can most likely receive the information. Hard words to give a dying church, but necessary if they want to live.

This book is a very sobering read. It is challenging, yet not depressing. Hope is seen for a different outcome if change is embraced early.

Very practical and insightful. Give a good guidance in accessing the healthiness of a church. I especially like the last chapter which brings out the idea of dying with gracious.

I picked this up after it was recommended to me by a fellow church planter. It has really helped me to analyse and understand aspects of the church that we are in the process of revitalising and to look out for the prospective signs of sickness in the future.Some well researched and relevant work. Not just for American churches but with significant read across into my U.K. context too.

Material muito pertinente

Written honestly and lovingly. Very useful reading for me in a small, older church.