Book review: Transforming Church in Rural America
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The gist? Shannon O'Dell reluctantly left a large multi-pastor church to lead a small rural church in a town with a population of less than 100. He now has a passion for rural ministry, which led him to write this book. He raises some good points, like that a pastor who leaves as a missionary to Africa gets prayer and financial support and a commissioning service as he leaves while a pastor who leaves a big church to go minister in the sticks gets questioned about the financial wisdom of it and gets laughed at. Throughout the book, he provides personal anecdotes, Bible verses, and best practices as he offers guidance to rural pastors (though he gets a bit list- and acronym-happy in places).
My thoughts? I love rural churches. As much as I love my decidedly not rural church now, it's a comfortable fit whenever I return to the little Baptist church where our wedding was held and where I was baptized. That's why I was interested in reading this. I found myself nodding in affirmation at points and furrowing my brow in others.
I think this could be worth reading for nothing but his family-focused advice to those in ministry. He stresses the importance of marriage and of a family vision. The best line of the book was "...a red-hot marriage and a functional family is the most powerful evangelistic tool in rural America" (or anywhere, I would add). Other spots were solid too, and I plan to send this book to the pastor who married us as an encouragement to him.
I found three bothersome spots, though:
- One section frustrated me so much that I had to put down the book and walk away for a bit. It was only page 24, and it may have affected my view of him through the rest of the book. He says on the bottom of that page,
In the spring of 2001, I sensed God's call to lead a church. The voice of God's Spirit was clear, and, to be honest, it made sense. I was starting to age out of youth ministry and (like multitudes of youth pastors before me) the next professional step was to seek an associate or senior pastor position.
Grrr. For an author who is seeking to guide others in breaking broken ministry rules, right here he ascribes to the one that is high on my list of stupid, unbiblical rules. Youth ministers don't have to be young and hip. They just have to love Jesus and be willing to partner with parents to disciple the next generation. In Psalm 78 and other passages throughout Scripture, it is clear that teaching the next generation is never something that we "age out of." Are we willing to accept that our youngest (children and youth) be taught by the least experienced who are just there to gain street cred before moving to something bigger and better? That's not a rule I think we ought to embrace as a church.
- I know that "relevant" is a hot word in ministry right now, and that isn't always a bad thing. However when he says, "Whatever we do, it needs to be relevant; it needs to be transforming; it needs to make a difference in the community," it puts the impetus on us. The Gospel - God! - is relevant in our lives, is the author of transformation, and never fails to make a difference. I don't think, based on other things O'Dell says, that he preaches a Gospel+______ sort of message (i.e. that he thinks the Gospel is insufficient without extra adornment), but his choice of words doesn't always communicate that.
- At one point, he talks about engaging the would-be leaders in rural congregations so that leadership can develop from within. I was on board with that. Then he contradicts himself with these condescending words:
Please understand: it is really not about the ten families that have been there forever. It is about the families that will never experience a relevant gospel and never meet the living God unless someone with vision shows up and starts preaching the gospel with their words and the life. Yeah, most rural churches say they want to grow, and they think they want to grow, but they really don't. They don't want a real pastor - a true and dedicated shepherd to lead them into new fields of harvest - they want somebody to pacify them, tell them what they already know, and keep things the way they are.
I was a Ministry Associate for Youth and Music Ministry at my rural church, and the folks I did ministry with wanted somebody to be humble and show them respect before anything else, much like Christ's attitude as described in Philippians 2. I didn't see that as a primary focus of O'Dell's guidance or attitude.