Product Description

After thousands of churches have been transformed by Unbinding the Gospel, we've improved it by adding a 40-day prayer journal!


Unbinding the Gospel: Real Life Evangelism is a book for church groups to study. It's a book for pastors who want the truth about the state of our churches. Reese presents a clear-spoken, hopeful vision for a future and gives us a way to get there-without gimmicky formulas, but hand-in-hand with God.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13724 in Books
• Published on: 2008-10-16
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 210 pages

Review
"...the `don't ask, don't tell' evangelism program will not reverse the trend. Humor, whimsy and joy in the faith will serve us better. Reese's book is written to provoke, to tease and to charm us back into telling our story." -- The Christian Century

"...with clarity and sound theological grounding, we are invited into a grand adventure....could be a watershed book for mainline Protestantism." -- Congregations

"Don't miss this one!" -- Evangelism Connections

"[Reese's] ideas are resonating with enthusiastic clergy & lay audiences all across the ...theological spectrum." -- Christian Feminism Today

From the Publisher
Selected by Christian Century as featured "Take and Read" Book, 2007 Book Issue!

"...the `don't ask, don't tell" evangelism program will not reverse the trend. Humor, whimsy and joy in the faith will serve us better. Reese's book is written to provoke, to tease and to charm us back into telling our story."
The Christian Century

"...with clarity and sound theological grounding, we are invited into a grand adventure....could be a watershed book for mainline Protestantism."
Alban Institute, Congregations

"...Reese's book is so important...That's why when you turn the last page, you can't just let this be another book you read. You need to let her message affect you and your faith community, and through you, other people."
Brian McLaren

"I expect the Real Life Evangelism Series to move at least 20,000 churches into their first invitational foray into the community in anyone's memory."
George G. Hunter, III, Distinguished Professor of Evangelism & Church Growth, Asbury Theological Seminary

"Based on extensive and authoritative research of Martha Grace Reese, and rooted in her passionate love to God and respect for the mainline church....the Real Life Evangelism Series provides the most competent guide I know to mainline evangelism....realistic, clear and direct; but also hopeful, humble and genuinely spiritual. Anyone who cares about and works in the cause of mainline evangelism will find this book a treasure."
Todd Hunter, National Director, Alpha USA; Former Director, Vineyard Churches USA

From the Back Cover
"Unbinding the Gospel is a power pack! Based on the extensive and authoritative research of Martha Grace Reese, and rooted in her passionate love for God and respect for the mainline church, this book provides the most competent guide I know to mainline evangelism. Unbinding the Gospel, like Reese, is the rarest of gifts. She does the extraordinary: she removes guilt and lack of confidence regarding evangelism with the whole story, honest interpretation and with fresh, non-judgmental and kind insights for change. Unbinding the Gospel is realistic, clear and direct; but also hopeful, humble and genuinely spiritual. Anyone who cares about and works in the cause of mainline evangelism will find this book a treasure."
--Todd Hunter, National Director, Alpha USA; Former Director, Vineyard Churches USA

"This new interesting book on the "E word" (Evangelism), based on studies of 150 churches and interviews with over 1000 people, will be a breath of fresh air in thousands of congregations. As I read it, other "E" words came to mind--like engaging, encouraging, energetic, and even entrepreneurial and exhilarating."
--George G. Hunter, Distinguished Professor of Evangelization, Asbury Theological Seminary

"Martha Grace Reese gently but persistently lures the Mainline back to the ministry of evangelism that is the heart of the church. Based on careful research and extensive listening, Unbinding the Gospel avoids gimmicks and the trap of the latest church growth fad, inviting pastors and members instead to a relationship with Christ that overflows the banks of our often cautious and reserved congregations. Filled with helpful suggestions for getting started, this book can convert even the most `evangelism-cautious' Christians into eager disciples who love others enough to tell them why Jesus is the answer."
-- John H. Thomas, General Minister and President, United Church of Christ

"Unbinding the Gospel should be required reading in all mainline churches. Our continuing existence may depend upon it."
-- Richard Peace, Professor of Evangelism and Spiritual Formation, Fuller Theological Seminary

"I am delighted with the publication of Unbinbing the Gospel: Real Life Evangelism by Martha Grace Reese. It is just the kind of challenge we need in the mainline Protestant Churches today! God is calling us to a deeper relationship to Jesus Christ and a fresh passion to share our faith with others. This book is a marvelous resource for mainline Christians and congregations to gain fresh perspectives on sharing the Good News and building the church in our time! I heartily recommend this book!"
--Clifton Kirkpatrick, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

"Unbinding the Gospel: Real Life Evangelism, by Martha Grace Reese, is a down to earth, engaging, fun and compelling call to mainline congregations and disciples to reclaim the "e" word....evangelism... with very practical and personal advise on sharing your faith, today!"
--David Schoen, Congregational Vitality Initiative Coordinator, Evangelism Minister and Team Leader, Local Church Ministries

"Written with intelligence, heart and a sense of humor, this book is brimming with love for God and for Gods children. It is equally inspiration, motivation and how to. This is real life evangelism for real life Christians."
--Sharon Watkins, General Minister and President, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

"Reese loves the Church. Remember that, as you digest her study of American mainline churches and their seeming impotence over the "E" word. Momentarily citing statistics to the point of shock and awe, she doesn't leave the reader there. Hope for the mainline church abounds in these pages. She carefully demythologizes evangelism and then reconstructs it through common sense practices."
--Jim Griffith, President of Griffith Coaching Network

"Unbinding the Gospel looks at the 'brutal facts' of evangelism in the mainline churches with a passionate and inspiring vision of how churches can nurture evangelistic engagement in the culture today. The real stories it tells deepen a credible hope. We long today for a missional, relational, incarnational expression of the church's life in our society. This book helps to identify the pathways toward that future. It's a book that teaches us how to re-learn the practice of evangelism, published at a teachable moment. Don't just read this book--use it!"
--Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, General Secretary, Reformed Church in America

"There is nothing quite like solid research to dispel the sort of misconceptions and self-serving biases and attitudes we of mainline churches have harbored for so long. Solid research is what Gay Reese gives us, along with clear, thoughtful analysis and concrete prescriptions for how we can move forward in faithful and effective evangelism. She manages to do all this in a book that is completely accessible to both clergy and lay people and fun to read! It is an amazing and timely accomplishment!"
--Richard L. Hamm, former General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and author of Recreating the Church: Leadership for the Postmodern Age

"This book combines research and hard data with warm stories of real people growing their churches in healthy ways. The anecdotal material inspires each of us as followers of Jesus to grow more comfortable in sharing our faith. But as important is the research that informs our church leaders about congregational dynamics that impact the growth or stagnation of our churches. Reese has put together an approach to sharing the gospel that works in main line denominational churches. We are using this book as the primary resource for our elders in an upcoming leadership retreat."
--Bruce Humphrey, Senior Pastor, Rancho Bernardo Community Presbyterian Church, San Diego, California

Customer Reviews

Sharing Our Stories
If anyone had tried to tell me we could get 80 church members to come to a Saturday retreat to talk about Evangelism, I would have told them they were crazy... We're a mainline church - and Evangelism just isn't something we are comfortable with..

But Unbinding the Gospel motivated my church to move in ways I couldn't imagine.. As the book suggested, we prayed - not just once, but faithfully... and 80 people read the book and showed up on a Saturday.. And they joined in groups to pray for each other... for the church.. and for all those who needed to hear the story..

I have been an active layperson in my church for a decade.. We've tried many things along the way.. This book challenged us to be more faithful - and to share our faith more faithfully. I'm convinced it has planted mustard seeds that will bloom in ways only God can imagine.

From Surviving to Thriving
Unbinding the Gospel, Real Life Evangelism, Martha Grace Reese, Chalice Press, St. Louis, Mo., 2006.

Who says mainline churches can't do evangelism? Former pastor Martha Grace began a Lilly grant study to prove some can and do. Several years later she has come to the conclusion that though they can they need conversion themselves, first. The purpose of the mainline evangelism project was to find churches that are doing effective evangelism. What she found was that only 150 out of 30,000 mainline churches were. That's a demoralizing one half of one percent. Enough to dull the edge of anyone's resolve, but Martha Grace was convinced that things could be different, and that there are actions that every church along the full spectrum of theology and styles could take to reverse the sad trend of the last four decades. This book will convince you that she is right! And will (more importantly) inspire you to act on what you have learned.

From the bad news statistics we move quickly to "three stories of victory" that show us how evangelism is being done in "real life," in some mainline churches throughout North America. The inspiration these real churches provide help us to understand what new members want and need and how they are finding it in the transformation of their own lives by the gospel of Jesus Christ. What we find here is not more idealistic rhetoric but natural, proven ways and concrete examples of some of our churches that are really touching their communities with Christian hope and making a definite difference in their neighborhoods.

The last section of the book helps us work confidently and effectively with our congregations as they re-pattern themselves for ministry in the 21st Century, praying their way through changes that can drive them forward with confidence instead of just trying to survive. Here is sound advice for pastors to lead out of example and stay long enough to see their congregations change.

Each chapter of this compelling book ends with "honest to God" discussion questions to be answered first personally, and then in small groups. Suggestions for concrete action also help us move from clear, biblical motivation to the world of real church and community.

There is enough fertile ground here for any pastor and her/his church leaders to plow for at least a year. It would make a dynamic Lenten or Fall study for any group or a whole congregation. And those who sow are bound to reap in this soul searching and hope-filled guide to mainline church life in the days ahead.

Don't miss this one!

Bruce Laverman

Useful Work
Unbinding the Gospel is a very useful book in a field overfull with relatively theoretical books. It is fact filled, starting with a base in a solid survey of growing churches. But it gets to real issues of parish ministry and outreach. The survey asked the right questions about how to engineer any kind of growth in a more main-line culture and theology, in which, specifically, it is NOT asumed that eternal damnation is at stake.

Ms. Reese and her associates designed a telling survey. They discovered that only a small percentage of churches "so conceived and so dedicated" have experienced significant growth. That is the bad news. But then they delved into the culture, leadership, spirituality and experience of those churches. Very good news here!

Conclusions? The book is designed primarily to be read with a group in a parish. The conclusions reached are best implemented in small goups. Simply stated, the growth of these more open churches was related in each case to a sincere spirituality. The experience of God is paramount, and crosses theological and cultural boundaries. While it may be too simplistic to say that where there is real prayer, churches will grow, it is a clear conclusion that where there is no prayer -- where there is no experience of a living God, churches will wither. And virtually each of the interviewed leaders, while diverse in ministry style and tradition, rooted their ministires in prayer and spirituality.

These are stories of churches doing the possible: of committing to six months of prayer before launching any outreach program, of reaching out to a small rural and demographically static community, of actually growing a congregation!

Very encouraging and helpful work.