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.”

A Sanctifying Space

The local church does not simply occupy space. Rather, it makes place.

Beyond Burnout: Finding God in the Ashes

Where you are burned out, and you’re just desperately craving some real comfort, Jesus breaks himself into a feast for you, so that you can savor and taste and see that the Lord is good, and your heart can burn with hope within you again.

Merry and Bright Family Golf Night Attracts a Crowd

Sunday school classes and other groups “adopted” a hole and decorated it for Christmas, and with average Sunday attendance at around 260 at the church, there was a good pool of potential volunteers to staff the event.