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{"id":4144,"date":"2015-03-26T09:52:13","date_gmt":"2015-03-26T15:52:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/?p=4144"},"modified":"2015-03-26T09:52:40","modified_gmt":"2015-03-26T15:52:40","slug":"shrink-on-sale-for-4-99-now-through-april-5th","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/2015\/03\/shrink-on-sale-for-4-99-now-through-april-5th.html","title":{"rendered":"Shrink On Sale for $4.99 Now thru April 5th"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

$\"Screen$ <\/a>The most powerful reason the church is in decline in North America is that the church\u2019s way of being in the world does not represent a genuine alternative to mainstream society. The church leadership conversation has been coopted by our culture. When the church becomes an agent of the culture, indistinguishable in most ways from society at large, people cease to see the value in belonging, and they opt out.<\/p>\n

The solution to this is not a new model, strategy or technique. The way forward is about faithfulness\u2013it\u2019s about letting go of ministry outcomes, and trusting the way of Christ for our future. At some point we are going to have to ask ourselves, do we really believe God knows what God is doing with the church<\/em>? Do we believe this enough to pursue faithfulness in the way of Christ regardless of the perceived results?<\/p>\n

The entire church leadership conversation has to change. Even the sources of renewal we see\u00a0in things like the missional church conversation are still\u00a0bogged down in a mire of pragmatism & the need to be successful.\u00a0Shrink<\/em><\/a> calls into question the premise of nearly every single leadership book I\u2019ve ever read or heard about precisely because it is not pragmatic. This book cannot help you grow your organization. However, if you\u2019ll take it seriously, it can help you see that the\u00a0way forward can be summed up in one simple word: faithfulness<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Shrink<\/em> is a new book, meant to try and offer a practical, but not pragmatic vision of what it means to be the church. The e-book of Shrink<\/em> is now on sale for $4.99 through the Harper Collins website<\/a>. Don\u2019t miss the chance to grab an electronic version for your kindle or computer.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"