Andrew Root and Blair Bertrand

When Church Stops Working
Brazos Press, 2023
By Andrew Root and Blair Bertrand

WHO: Andrew Root, an author and professor at Luther Seminary; and Blair Bertrand, a lecturer at Zomba Theological University and teaching consultant with Theological Education by Extension Malawi. 

THEY SAY: “To obey Jesus’ command—to be the body of the living Christ—the church will always be in tension.”

THE BIG IDEA: This book shows how actively watching and listening for God can bring life to churches in crisis.

THE PROGRESSION: In eight chapters, the authors show how getting mired in busyness and new programs can keep us from focusing on God. They also explain that while innovation can be great, waiting on the Lord is the solution a church in crisis needs.

“Your church is sick, but the problem is not decline. The problem is that this secular age has infected it.”

Unbroken Faithfulness

As we face challenge and opposition in our contexts, let’s be encouraged to keep going with consistency, moral courage and confidence in the Scriptures as God’s Word for all time—including our time.

Derwin Gray: 4 Ways to Refill

If we attempt to provide for others without first being nourished ourselves, we burn out. We wound ourselves and others.

4 Foundations for Successful Church Planting

Fueled by the passion of a calling, having committed themselves in prayer, and by playing a long game of patience and persistence, successful church planters establish effective churches by walking in a manner worthy of the purpose to which they’ve been called.