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David Couchman

David Couchman

David Couchman is the lead author for the 'Facing the Challenge' series of courses.

Challenging Times

David Couchman's blog on living in today's world in the light of the Bible

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David Couchman has led seminars at national events such as the Christian Resources Exhibition, Keswick Convention, and the FIEC Conference. Many of his sermons can be found on this web site.

More about David...

Listen to Phil Prior interviewing David about Focus's vision

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How does our church life need to change to face the challenge of our times? (More resources for 'Facing the Challenge' appendix A)

Books

The main purpose of this appendix is to explore how our church life may need to change to face the challenge of our times, and to make our church more accessible to people who are not yet followers of Christ. Another purpose is to help us to manage the process of change in such a way as to avoid alienating those who are already inside the Church.

The material in this appendix is designed so you can easily use it the basis for an extra session of the course. Two resource sheets are available in pdf format for Adobe® Reader:

pdf file For group discussion or individual reflection
pdf file Key points summary and 'Try this at home' exercise

This material will be much more practical if you can work through it in the context of the church, home group, or campus group that you belong to.

Web articles

Web sites can appear, disappear, and change their addresses - specially on less well-established sites. If you cannot find the article you want, try looking for the title of the article using a search engine, e.g. Google.com.

Practical Considerations for Postmodern-sensitive Churches - a provocative article by Ross Rohde, sequel to his article The Gospel and Postmodernism

For more on how people's beliefs and involvement in Church are changing, see the review of the 4th June 2000 episode of SOUL OF BRITAIN, written and presented by Michael Buerk

For more on consumerism and how this affects people's attitudes to the Church, see the review of the 25th June 2000 episode of SOUL OF BRITAIN

For more on community and the role of the Church, see the review of the 9th July 2000 episode of SOUL OF BRITAIN

For more on the Church's failure to meet people's spiritual needs, see the review of the 16th July 2000 episode of SOUL OF BRITAIN

Three excellent web articles from 'Reality' magazine by Alan Jamieson, based on the material in his book 'A Churchless faith' (see below):

Books

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A Church for the 21st Century

Leith Anderson, Bethany House 1992
This is a practical guide to how to introduce change to your church. Tackles such questions as what the Church needs to look like in the new millennium, different kinds of Church, and what counts as success (and whether we would recognize it if we saw it).

Leith Anderson is the Senior Pastor of Wooddale Church in Eden Prarie, Minneapolis.
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Dying for Change

Leith Anderson, Bethany House 1998
Looks at the way the world is changing around the Church, and how the Church needs to respond. Gives an overview of how different generations ('boomers' and 'busters') think, and what this means for the Church's activities. Contains a set of diagnostic questions to help church leadership think through issues of change.

Leith Anderson is the Senior Pastor of Wooddale Church in Eden Prarie, Minneapolis.
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Christians in a Consumer Culture

Christians in a Consumer Culture

John Benton, Christian Focus 1999
Consumerism and personal choice have become dominant forces in western culture. Followers of Christ are in danger of being sucked in by the appeal of consumerism. Benton explores the relationship between postmodernism and consumerism, the impact of the media, and the effect of consumerism on personal identity. He charts how consumerism affects ecology, justice, and spirituality, and and explores what it looks like to be an authentic follower of Christ in the middle of a consumer culture, particularly in the areas of contentment rather than acquisitiveness , and commitment rather than detachment in our approach to the Church.

John Benton is a pastor, author, and editor of 'Evangelicals Now'.
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The Tide is Running Out, by Peter Brierley

The Tide is Running Out

What the English Church Attendance Survey reveals
Dr. Peter Brierley
Christian Research 2000
ISBN 1-85321-137-0
This book sets out in detail the results of the English Church Attendance survey of 1998.  A "must have" for every church leader in the UK.
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Steps to the Future, by Peter Brierley

Steps to the Future

Issues facing the church in the new millennium
Dr. Peter Brierley
Christian Research / Scripture Union 2000
ISBN 1-85999-446-6
In this book, Peter Brierley examines the key issues that the church needs to address, especially in relation to work with young people, in the light of the results of the 1998 English Church Attendance survey.
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The Church of the Third Millennium

The Church of the Third Millennium

Phil Hill, OM Publishing 1999
Subtitled 'A Straight-talking guide to the Postmodern World and its Impact on the Church.'
Part one examines contemporary culture, especially the effect of postmodern thinking and values. In part two, Hill turns to look at how these things have affected the Church, while in part three he asks how the Church needs to change in the new millennium, in order to be the kind of Church that God wants and that will effect society.

Phil Hill is senior pastor of Hockliffe St. Baptist Church in Leighton Buzzard, UK
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A Churchless Faith, by Alan Jamieson

Preaching to a Postmodern World

by Graham Johnston, InterVarsity 2001
This is an excellent book on contemporary communication. It sets out to answer the question how we can adapt our methods to be more effective at reaching people today, without watering down our message to suit the convenience of postmodern listeners. It will be invaluable to anyone who is involved in communicating the Bible's message on a regular basis - preachers, junior church leaders, home group leaders, Christian union leaders, teachers, and writers.

Graham Johnston is senior pastor of Subiaco Church of Christ, Western Australia, and an adjunct lecturer in homiletics at Perth Bible College.
Read a more detailed review
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Chameleon or Tribe? by Richard Keyes

Chameleon or Tribe

(US Title: Chameleon Christianity)

by Richard Keyes, IVP 1999
In this book Dick Keyes argues that contemporary culture can push us in one of two different directions: The first is to compromise with the world, so that we become like it, changing our colour to fit, like a chameleon.  The second is to cut ourselves off from the world and retreat into our ghetto or "tribe". 

Keyes says that both of these tendencies are attractive, but both are also deadly dangerous.  Instead, we need to get back to being a genuine community of followers of Christ - a way of living that shows the reality of our God-given message to today's world.
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Gone but not Forgotten, by Philip Richter and Leslie Francis

Gone but not Forgotten: church leaving and returning

by Philip Richter and Leslie J Francis

For every adult in church, four other adults used to attend regularly but have given up... the biggest challenge facing churches in England today is not how to recruit new members, but the problem of church leavers. (From the cover blurb)

Churches spend a lot of energy seeking to bring in new people. Yet while we encourage people to come in through the front door, a huge number are leaving by the back door. This book explores eight key reasons why people leave. The writers also looked at what kind of leaver is most likely to come back to church, and what kind is least likely to return. They also look at the practical implications for churches, and the value of finding ways to encourage people not to leave. This is a helpful book, based on some useful research. Every church leader should read it.

Read a more detailed review
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Natural Church Development Handbook, by Christian Schwarz

Natural Church Development Handbook

A Practical Guide to a New Approach
Christian A. Schwarz
British Church Growth Association 1998
ISBN 0-948704-36-5
This is a practical and realistic new approach to church growth, relevant for anyone involved in church leadership at whatever level.
Go here to find out where you can order this book
Or visit the British Church Growth Association's web site.
Rethinking the Church, by James Emery White

Rethinking the Church

James E White, Baker 1997
Subtitled: 'A Challenge to creative design in an age of transition'
What does it mean to be the Church, and how can we develop innovative approaches that will increase the effectiveness of our church's mission? James White explores 'creative redesign' in the areas of evangelism, discipleship, ministry, worship, structure and community.
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