Kicking Habits Upgrade Edition: Welcome Relief For Addicted Churches

I have spent the last 4+ years researching addictive church family sytems, in addition to studying my own church where I serve as a pastor, and working on a masters degree which is built on family systems theory. So, I can probably say that I'm an expert on the subject. Yet, I was surprised that I hadn't seen this book before, so I ordered it immediately. I thought, maybe I don't need to write my book after all!I did like Bandy's clever analogy for a declining church, that it is like a baby that "fails to thrive." Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed with the book. It's very easy to see that churches can be thriving or declining systems. However, it's also too easy to blame particular symptoms as if they are the problems.Bandy picks on his particular pet peaves and calls them "addictive," but watch out, because if you disagree, that's because you're stuck in the addictive system. Well, I disagree and it's not because I'm in the addictive system, but rather because I know enough about addictive systems to know that he blames the wrong things.For example, Bandy blames the addiction to "vision by committee", addiction to strategic planning, committees, accountability through management, acceptable mediocrity (which Bandy also forgets has the flipside of change for the sake of change), addiction to debt freedom, worship as an informational event, expository preaching, unpopular music, burdening the youth with the future of the church, and the attitude that the church should focus on nourishing its own. Any of these CAN be stifling, but they do not necessarily spell an addictive church. We must ask the "Why" question to get at the root.Also, Bandy seems to believe that seeking consensus in a church goes against the way the Spirit works who may only reveal His will to one person. While he makes a good argument, it fails to meet the Bible standards which suggests that the Spirit reveals itself to more than one person and that we are to "test all things" and move in unity. While Bandy makes a valid observation that organization and consensus CAN stifle the Spirit, his statements need to be balanced out. The flipside is that they can also be used effectively for good. We have to be careful about drawing BROAD conclusions, without looking at the "why" of what he's saying.According to other family systems experts (see Edwin Friedman and Murray Bowen's research on family systems), addiction impacts a family system through the spread of anxiety like wildfire among people with low self-differentiation. From a Christian perspective, the underlying problem has to do with fear/anxiety versus Faith. Any of the things Bandy mentioned CAN be done anxiously, but they can ALSO be used effectively and non-anxiously (or in Faith). That's why I don't put any stock in Bandy's lists as long as he fails to address the reasons. Unfortunately, Bandy focuses too much on the externals without giving much of his reasoning as to how these changes would be helpful. If he had, then we might get a clearer picture of what he's looking at.Unfortunately, Bandy violates his own belief that the spirit works differently for each church and that we should avoid prescriptive thinking. Bandy's book provides a "prescriptive" step-by-step one-size-fits-all plan for churches. While he's against linear strategic planning, his book is basically a linear strategic plan. Because of this, I believe Bandy's book MUST be missing the point.Nevertheless, the 260 pages is not *completely* wasted as he does have some creative suggestions and some new ideas for re-thinking church. He at least outlines an intervention strategy for addictive churches, though I'm not sure what the rationale for how his intervention strategy would be effective in changing an addictive culture...does he realize how difficult it is to change a church culture? Not to mention, an addictive system? I just wish he didn't focus too much on his own pet peeves and the prescriptive details which fail to adequately address the problem of addictive churches.Finally, while the book claims to be a "welcome relief" there is only 1.5 pages dealing with it, suggesting that the welcome relief is the changing theologies and changing attitudes towards the gospel. Where does God and His Higher Power factor into the strategy? How does non-anxious faith in God, demonstrated in transformational leadership, make any difference?

This is a provocative book that will be helpful to everyone seeking "answers," and a necessary guide for those in the throws of "habits>"

Informative

good

As a lay person, I read this book when the Sr. Minister at my church recommended it, originally "researching" how to stream-line our church - which is bloated with committees (the # of committee member seats is higher than the # of people who actively attend our church). Anyway...This book "transformed" my view of what a church can or should be. If I were now to "shop" for a new church, I would have a totally different set of criteria. Bandy's view of a "thriving church" is both inspiring and scarey - inspiring because it feels right; scarey because I find it hard to imagine my church being able to be so transformed; and scarey, in that I now, for the first time, am considering looking elsewhere... leaving this "church family".When Bandy describes traits of a "declining" church, I was hit by "ah-HAH!" after "ah-HAH!". Things that bugged me, drove me crazy, had me thinking of totally different ways of doing stuff - all were confirmed in this book. Whether he is right or wrong, he has struck a big chord with me.If your church service has a bulletin, plays mostly classical music, and needs more than 15 people to actually run the church (i.e. committees), read this book - if you dare.

This book is a must for any believer, but specially leaders. You will see, in a very compeling and "oiled" way the reality of the pathetic present system of "church as usual". You will see that we, the church at large, are designed as a franchise of boredom and institutionalism. It is not a book for those who love the "status quo" and are controling freaks. Is not a book for people who seek accomodations and think that being a good christian means going to Sunday school for a thousand years and never graduating. It is a great book and everyone in the new church we are starting is reading it. The book, above all, calls you to be true and vibrant with the message of Jesus and not with the carpet in the fellowship-hall.

The book has been a good tool to direct my thinking about the addictions in my churches (2). I knew something was wrong, but did not categorize it like an addiction. I am hopeful that more books of this type will offer help with the systemic problems of dying and declining churches. Thanks for the resource!

Bandy's book really challenged me to rethink what I do and why I do it. It also offers practical help for how to move to a place of church health.