celebrates 20 years of busting your book budget. Take the pop quiz below for church leaders and parachurch leaders. Plus,
, by Michael Eck. Plus, check out these
“A Fundamental Deficit in Ecclesiology” (and maybe spelling?)
But before you delete this review—or question her credentials—read on.
Ward is director of the Doctor of Ministry program and associate professor of leadership and ministry at Denver Seminar.
When I learned about Ward’s extensive church and parachurch experience, I was intrigued. Because (and no bias here), anyone who has worked full-time at a Christian camp or conference center deserves a listen. (She served at
Fort Wilderness in the beautiful Northwoods of Wisconsin after completing college.) So…I read her book.
First, let me confess. Beyond Church and Parachurch has enjoyed a prominent place on my shelf for over a year now. I shoulda written my review last year—so you could start thinking about her research and insights. Nevertheless, there’s still time to fix this mess. Here are a few thoughts for this 20th anniversary issue of Your Weekly Staff Meeting (too much hoopla?).Ward launches her thesis (or was that an incendiary device?) on page six noting that while church and parachurch leaders pretend we’re all on the “same team”—that’s hardly true. “…the reality is that all of our organizations have their own agendas, and those agendas often contend for the same people and resources.” She adds that “precious little time” is invested in how churches and parachurches currently relate to each other—and how they
should relate to each other.
Then this zinger: “I believe this is because the people of God suffer from a fundamental deficit in ecclesiology—that is, a theological understanding of what the church is, what it should be, and what it should do.”
I pulled out just five elbows-in-the-ribs for my review. You’ll find dozens more.
#1. Parachurch History (Yikes!). Unless you are a student of Christian history, it’s unlikely you know about the roots of God’s work outside of the local church. Ward writes:
“While the term ‘parachurch’ is relatively new, the concept has been around for a long time: not just since the twentieth century, the 1850s, or even the Second Great Awakening in the late 1700s, but for as long as the church has been in existence.” Example: monasteries ministered to others in numerous creative ways—and were distinct from the church.
And get this:
“It should be noted that monasticism, at least for its first eight hundred years, was largely a lay movement.” And this: “Monasticism was especially beneficial for women. Although the number of nuns and abbeys was much smaller, female branches of male orders provided opportunities for women ‘to step free of inherited roles and expectations and opened up new vocations in the church and society.’”
Oops! Nonordained monastics were viewed by the church “as a drain on time, personnel, and diocesan finances.” The result: “While monastics often felt opposition from secular clergy, the feeling was mutual, and many monastics held an anticlerical stance.”Been There/Done That! “Then there were questions of authority, not just with the church but among fellow monks of different orders. Conflicts over jurisdiction sometimes caused splits and led to the formation of new religious communities.” (
Sound familiar?)
All this to say…there is nothing new under the sun, but going deeper into the history and research—and our current church/parachurch “ecosystem”—is both fascinating and productive. Dr. Ward has some ideas and recommendations for us.
#2. Parachurch/Parachute? I should note here that every time I tried to type “parachurch,” my autocorrect typed “parachute.” (See the graphic above. LOL!) So I asked ChatGPT for some humorous similarities between parachurches and parachutes. The response:
“Maybe autocorrect got it half right. The best parachurch organizations are a lot like parachutes—they're designed to help people when they're in free fall, but they're never intended to replace the airplane.”#3. Why Read This Book Now? I know. I know. You have a ton of books you lugged with you on your summer vacation—and most of them are still unread. Why this book now?
CHURCH POP QUIZ. If you’re a pastor, priest, board member, or on the staff team at a church: • Are you overwhelmed with requests from parachurches for your best volunteers and most generous donors?
• Do parachurch leaders send you on a guilt trip—or invite you to travel along in what
God is doing?
• Does your
three-year strategic plan include an intentional blueprint for partnering with parachurches that closely align with your church’s mission? (For more on partnerships, read Phill Butler’s excellent book,
Well Connected: Releasing Power, Restoring Hope through Kingdom Partnerships.)
• Have you ever read a book on how to enrich the relationship between church and parachurch?
PARACHURCH POP QUIZ. If you’re a parachurch leader or board member: • Is your current “partnership” strategy with churches more shotgun than strategy?
• Have you ever asked a pastor, “How can we serve YOU?”
• Per
Peter Drucker’s five questions, have you ever asked a church leader, “What do you value?”
• Have you ever read a book on how to enrich the relationship between church and parachurch?
#4. Staff or Board Retreat Resources. Sometimes…you’re so focused on the day-to-day that you don’t take time to address the big picture—
or worse. As the weathered sign from a dirt road in East Texas warns (see page 41 in
Mastering the Management Buckets):
For your next board or staff retreat, delegate your reading and inspire several people to give mini-reviews of these two foundational books. (See the teasers under #5.)
•
The Church & the Parachurch: An Uneasy Marriage, by Jerry White (
Read my review.)
•
The Prospering Parachurch: Enlarging the Boundaries of God‘s Kingdom, by Wesley K. Willmer and J. David Schmidt, with Martyn Smith (
Read my review.)
More resources: •
Becoming a Future-Ready Church: 8 Shifts to Encourage and Empower the Next Generation of Leaders, by Daniel Yang, Adelle M. Banks, and Warren Bird (
Read my review.
View the summary of my review on YouTube.)
•
Rooting for Rivals: How Collaboration and Generosity Increase the Impact of Leaders, Charities, and Churches, by Peter Greer and Chris Horst, with Jill Heisey (
Read my review.)
•
Why Can't Church Be More Like an AA Meeting? by Stephen R. Haynes (
Read my review.)
• Eight resources are also listed in the
second article here.
#5. Teasers. You’ll appreciate the research, the thought, and the boldness to suggest that churches and parachurches can move from “competition to missional extension.”
In fact, Dr. Ward suggests we toss the term, “parachurch.” There’s more: • Why a megachurch in Kentucky has jokingly been called “the biggest Lutheran, Methodist, and
Baptist church in the city.”
• The author quotes the late Anglican Bishop Mark Dyer,
“About every five hundred years, the Church feels compelled to hold a giant rummage sale.” (See also
Mark Matlock’s thoughts on church garage sales!)
• Ward helps convene an annual gathering of church and parachurch leaders to “further the partnership and conversation.” She salutes
Jerry White for his groundbreaking work. White wrote this book’s foreword and he also attends the annual gathering (which, apparently, has a limited budget—because the “podium” is actually a music stand!).
LOL! • For your next weekly staff meeting, try a pop quiz on “What is the church?” (See Chapter 5.)
• The author references
The Prospering Parachurch (see above) and notes that the authors’ four litmus tests to define a parachurch “can get tricky.”
• Read more about four “bad models” (including “a scarcity mindset”) and five movements (or shifts) including “from empire to kingdom.”
• Read why
Sam Metcalf suggests “parachurch” might actually be a “dirty word.” (“Either we’re part of the church or we’re not.”)
• Metcalf again:
“No one with a straight face would ever have called Mother Teresa a ‘para-Catholic.’”Thanks for reading. And really, if you’ve been reading
Your Weekly Staff Meeting since Aug. 28, 2006,
I’m so sorry you’ve spent all that money on books. You could have taken a cruise! For the master lists of books reviewed between 2006 and 2025, visit the
Book Bucket.
TO ORDER FROM AMAZON, click on the title for
Beyond Church and Parachurch: From Competition to Missional Extension, by Angie Ward. (And thanks to InterVarsity Press for sending me a review copy.)
View the new video series, John Pearson's Buckets Podcast, with AI-generated summaries of John's book reviews, including
Becoming a Future-Ready Church (8 minutes).
YOUR WEEKLY STAFF MEETING QUESTIONS:1) Who has passion for the issues raised in this book?
Maybe we don’t need a committee, but a prayer meeting?2) Who will read this book—and report back in two weeks with a 10-minute summary and three strategic questions to discuss?
3) What role, if any, do national and international associations and alliances, and others, have in fostering greater “missional extension” between churches and parachurches? (Examples:
CCCA,
CCCU,
Citygate Network,
CLA,
CMA,
ECFA,
EFC,
GLN,
Missio Nexus,
NAE,
NRB,
WEA, and perhaps the
Babylon Bee?)
SECOND READS: Fresh Solutions From Classic BooksYou have changed—and your problems have changed—since you read this the first time!Book #57 of 99: The Unnatural Act of ManagementFor your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by featuring Book #57 of 99 in our series, “Second Reads.” The big idea:
REREAD TO LEAD! Discover how your favorite books (and articles) still have more to teach you and the people you’re coaching and mentoring.
The Unnatural Act of Management:
When the Great Leader's Work Is Done,
the People Say, "We Did It Ourselves"
by Everett T. Suters (1992)
While it’s true that you only have a 50/50 chance of success every time you hire a new team member, the interviewing and hiring process does not have to be an anxiety-ridden exercise in Russian roulette. It’s likely this book slipped past you in 1992, but its unique and comprehensive management “story” (complete with a plot, interesting characters, and a company turn-around timeline) is a worthy addition to your reading list.
•
Read my review (Issue No. 43, June 25, 2007).
• Order from
Amazon.
• Management Bucket #17 of 20:
The Operations Bucket.
In his story, Everett T. Suters cautions managers to watch for any of the
17 red flags during the interview process. His cautionary warning signs include: 1) being late for the appointment, 2) no resume, 3) disturbing appearance, including poor eye contact, 4) poor communication skills,
5) cannot name any personal weaknesses, 6) no evidence that the person takes initiative—on their own time—to improve themselves, 7) unexplained employment history gaps, 8) low level of formal education, without a legitimate reason, 9) frequent job changes, yet little if any career progress, and 10) overqualified.
Other red flags include:
11) unsolicited criticism of former employers and managers, 12) unable to verbalize realistic personal goals, 13) little interest in the scope of the job or the future state of the company, 14) personal problems that could affect performance, 15) inappropriate concern about compensation and benefits, 16) openly expresses radical opinions, and 17) the person does not need to work.
I would add these questions: 1.
What is the best question you have ever been asked in an interview? 2. Why is life-long learning—improving yourself on your own time—so important to an employer?
CLICK HERE FOR BOOKS BY JOHN
View the AI-generated summary of the introduction, “Q&A With Son and Pearson” from the workbook, Mastering Mistake Making: My 25 Memorable Mistakes—and What I Learned (10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning Workbook), by John Pearson with Jason Pearson.
NOTICE! Effective Oct. 1, 2025, all 657 eNews issues, previously archived on Typepad.com are slowly (!) being moved to a new website here at John Pearson's Buckets Blog.
