I think this book is for those who want to see the Christian religion succeed but know that there are things that the Church is doing wrong. This is one that will not be for everyone because people don't always want to be told what they are doing wrong, but it is an important book for all Christians.

So this is such a unique voice and premise and I am here for it. I think this is so timely and relevant right now. More people need to be talking about this and working this out together. Thank you for writing this. Recommend.

Even as the Church in the West continues its gradual decline, there are many who continue to be faithful not only in attendance but also in service. In the midst of change, as different age groups grapple with issues unique to their generation, regardless of affiliation, there are many who care deeply about the state of the church. They want change for the better. They desire the wonderful community they dream of. They want a positive future for the Church. Spanning two generations, a mother-and-daughter team has come together to dialogue about the current state of the church and what is needed to change for the better. They share everything, their emotions about the past such as their assumptions, observations about apathy, disappointments, histories, suspicions, memories, and histories they experienced. They also express their hopes for the future of the Church. They ask the key question: "What will be most important for local churches going forward if they hope to thrive and not merely survive?" Through their family discussions, they manage to crystallize their thoughts into seven pertinent subjects. Both of them speak from their perspectives about how the future would be if they concentrate on strategies to deal with the following "distinctiveness."

1) Building Genuine Community
2) Focus on Children's Ministry
3) Outward Looking
4) Rejuvenating Sunday Service
5) Leading Teams
6) Acknowledging History and Past Mistakes
7) Creating a Healthy Culture

For each of the distinctiveness, the authors show us the historical and existing challenges before giving us ideas about the things that need to be changed. On Community, they present seemingly conflicting assumptions before arriving at the same conclusions. In the section about Kids Ministry, we learn that most kids made their first commitment to Jesus before they are 18, which presents us with a challenge: How to reach young children for Jesus? I like the way the kid-centric chapter begins with a planning perspective by Nancy and ends with a participant's point of view. The chapter on outreach also reveals two different starting perspectives that converge into a similar philosophy: Social justice and cause create positive vibes among those outside the Church. The chapter on the Sunday worship service offers us an alternative view of seeker-centered or attractional services. Regardless of the less-than-encouraging labels used, the key benefit is the presence of people. The final chapter "Behind the Curtain" gives a helpful paradigm to help us think through how we react to situations that we often struggle with.

My Thoughts
===============
Like turning rocks over on the beach, this book forces us to uncover the mosses of denials of a broken church. Written by a mother and a daughter who span two generations, readers get to hear their thoughts verbally expressed in a way that invites us into the conversation. Whether one is a Boomer, Gen-X, Millennial, or even Generation Z, we benefit by learning to see the different perspectives in the hope we can broaden the scope of understanding across generations. The greater the diversity of opinions, the more important the need to understand and not misrepresent alternative views.

This is a unique book about the Church for the future. Though there are many references and examples about the past and the present, the discussion is all geared toward finding ways to bridge the generational gap through patient understanding. The common goal propels both authors to expand their common ground and concerns. At the same time, there is ample room to share their hopes and desires, and what each generation can bring to the table. Like how Eugene Peterson wonderfully phrases it, this attempt is a demonstration of "A Long Obedience in the Same Direction." Both authors come from different generations, ministry experiences, and expectations. This common goal of forming a new community of faith is something we can all learn from. The book itself is an example of a successful parent-child collaboration for the same love and purpose for the future church. In fact, it is not just the content of this book that we can benefit from. It is also the way in which the whole book has been collaborated and affirmed throughout the book. This is not something easily achieved given the generational challenges that exist in many parts of society. I like the way the authors remind us of the meaning of honesty. Just like Brene Brown's words: "True community is where no one has to hide," building a community means learning to accept one another in spite of differences.

This book is not telling us that things will be rosy in the future. Far from that. In fact, they are sharing openly with us the formidable challenges for the Church. Max DePree famously said: "The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant." Both authors have honestly helped us define the reality as they have seen. They acknowledge with grace their respective contributions. In between, they continue to lead by example in continued service. With the experience of Nancy and the enthusiastic participation of Samantha, we have in one volume a tool to navigate with hope the future of the church.

Nancy Beach serves as a leadership coach with the Slingshot Group and on the teaching team at Soul City Church in downtown Chicago. Previously, Nancy served as the programming director at Willow Creek Community Church in suburban Chicago. She is also the author of An Hour on Sunday and Gifted to Lead.

Samantha Beach Kiley is a writer and performer, and the creative arts pastor at Austin New Church in Austin, Texas. Samantha's creative work has appeared in theatres, churches, and non-profit spaces. She has taught at Northwestern's National High School Institute and Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre, where she is the co-education director.

Rating: 4.25 stars of 5.

conrade
This book has been provided courtesy of InterVarsity Press and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.

Next Sunday
An Honest Dialogue About the Future of the Church
by Nancy Beach; Samantha Beach Kiley
Pub Date 14 Jun 2022
InterVarsity Press, IVP
Christian | Nonfiction (Adult) | Religion & Spirituality



I am reviewing a copy of Next Sunday: An Honest Dialogue About the Future of the Church through InterVarsity Press and Netgalley:




Are future generations going to find the Church worth fighting for? great reckoning is underway in the church today: a naming and exposing of the exclusivity, abuse, racism, patriarchy, and unchecked power that have marked evangelical Christianity for far too long. What kind of Church is going to emerge on the other side of this?



Like many families, the Beaches have been wrestling with this question. Together, Nancy and Samantha represent two generations: Nancy, a boomer, was a key player in the megachurch movement that revolutionized global ministry during the '80s and '90s, while Samantha, a millennial, is willing to abandon those massive buildings and celebrity cultures and find out whether the foundation holds. Each chapter in this book offers their individual experiences and perspectives on a challenge facing the church and considers the way forward. Filled with deep introspection and keen insight, Next Sunday is a vulnerable conversation about what the church has been and what it can be.




I give Next Sunday five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

Nancy Beach and her daughter, Samantha Beach Kiley write about problems plaguing the modern church from an insider’s perspective. Pastors, believers, years in church and leadership roles gives them a viewpoint that they use to their advantage. Pragmatic and hopeful, they give us in the church a lot to think about and many points to challenge us. I loved reading Next Sunday and intend to recommend it to anyone searching for what a healthy church can look like

The subtitle of this book is “An Honest Dialogue About the Future of the Church”. The dialogue here takes place between mother and daughter, Nancy and Samantha. Nancy was a longtime staff member of Willow Creek, a megachurch based out of Chicago, founded by Bill Hybels. Part of the Baby Boomer generation, Nancy raised her children, including her daughter Samantha, in this church. After growing up in the evangelical church, Nancy was drawn to the creativity and innovation of Willow Creek. Years later though she was part of a group that came forward to speak against some of the abuses of power that occurred there.

Samantha grew up surrounded by and immersed in the creative Christian world of Willow Creek. She thrived in the space created for innovation and the arts. But as an adult she also struggled to come to terms with some of the experiences that occurred at Willow Creek. Living now in Austin, Texas, Samantha has ended up also working in ministry at a church.

These two differing generational perspectives offer a unique picture of the church over the last fifty years or so. As a millennial like Samantha, I could relate to a lot of her experiences, particularly surrounding the growing divide between church and secular culture and the often frustrating ways that the church in North America seems to fall on the wrong side of history. At the same time, I could also relate to some of Nancy’s experiences of seeking out a church culture that supports creativity and innovation.

While the Church has basically suffered from internal conflict since the disciples in Acts first argued over the question of circumcision, there is a particular struggle that seems to be occurring in the evangelical church over the past few years. With the rise of Christian nationalism that Trump’s election seemed to bring to the forefront to the brave men and women who have come forward to speak about abuse experienced within the church, Christians are faced with the question of how they are going to react to these issues. And we are deeply divided. These divisions run deep, even within a single church. This is something I’ve experienced myself within the past couple of years (which is what drew me to request this book in the first place).

This is probably a book that will appeal to a reader already interested in the transformation that the church in North America is currently undergoing. Some may call this desconstruction but I prefer to think of it as a chance for reconstruction, a moment of reckoning from which the church can emerge refined and more focused on Christ than ever before. And, ultimately, I believe this is what Nancy and Samantha are striving for too.

Next Sunday

Growing up as a “pk” (pastor’s kid) and an “mk” (missionary kid), I was very much immersed in the Church. I still love the Church (capital “C”), and deeply believe that God does, too. However, in my 20s and now my 30s, I have wrestled with my relationship with the churches around me and have more questions than answers.

In the new IVP book Next Sunday: An Honest Dialogue About the Future of the Church, I found a beautiful conversation. The book is written by Nancy Beach and her daughter Samantha Beach Kiley. Nancy was a pastor at the famous mega-church Willow Creek for many years. While my experience of church was very different than Nancy’s and Samantha’s, I appreciated their stories, their questions, and the journeys that they shared in the pages of this book. While their experiences with churches have not been painless, both Nancy and Samantha still deeply love the Church and believe in her future. They discuss the need for churches to create authentic community, be kidcentric, and have an external focus. They share personal stories of pain and brokenness related to male and female relationships in church structures, as well as challenge the Church to acknowledge and repent of histories filled with exclusion and oppression.

While my experiences with church have been very different than the authors’, I still found myself resonating with much of what they wrote. And while I do not agree with everything contained in the pages of this book, I believe this book is an important one—and that the conversations begun in these pages are good ones to have in churches around the country.

I resonate with these words from the last chapter of the book: “The good news is, deep down, I don’t think anyone wants a perfect church. We want a place where we can learn it’s possible to love people through what separates us. We want honesty about how hard it is to be in relationship and to do good in the world. We want the people onstage to look a little less put together, be a little less like Polyanna… We want to practice and remember the divine order of death and resurrection. We want to see that love is worth it, even though it’s always, always, less pretty than we make it sound.”

Read this book and join in the conversation. Thinking, dreaming, praying, and living into what next Sunday could look like.

Bits of these ideas (how the megachurch movement ceased to be hip, the realization Gen Z Christians are into causes first then become converts/disciples later) have been discussed in academic books and surveys, but even there the ideas were more theory than practice. The way these authors tell their stories adds flesh to the bones, enriching the existing discussion and helping new kinds of readers relate to it.

Next Sunday is part memoir and part exhortation. Throughout the book Nancy and Samantha share their personal stories from their experience in life and ministry. For over two decades Nancy served on staff at Willow Creek Community Church in suburban Chicago, mostly serving on the church’s worship arts team. Samantha is currently a pastor at Austin New Church, but recounts her experience growing up in one of America’s mega churches. The book is broken up into seven chapters, each providing an area in which the authors believe the church must improve in order to better minister to modern culture in the future. In each chapter both Nancy and Samantha take turns sharing stories about their past experience and there commendation for future improvement in church ministry. The seven areas of improvement include fostering genuine community, children’s ministry, being others focused, prioritizing the Sunday gathering, gender roles in the church, the church’s approach to the LGBTQ community, and fostering a transparent church culture. On the surface these seven areas are fair critiques of the church primarily in America. Yet the authors’ suggestions for improvement in each of these these areas are not always biblical in their approach…

Click the link below to continue reading the full review: http://readingfortheglory.com/2022/06/14/does-the-church-have-a-public-relations-problem/

I found myself very curious to read this book, but also apprehensive. I am familiar with Nancy Beach, not personally, but I attended Willow Creek starting in 2003, and heard her teaching many times. I then went on staff at Willow Creek starting in 2016 and worked there up until 2020. I didn't know if I was ready to read about and unpack some of the negative side of Willow. I think Nancy in particular did a great job of addressing the good, the bad, and the ugly. Feelings that both mother and daughter described of holding both the joy and awesome with the hurt and the harm. Wondering how to remain a part of an organization where both have occurred, this is something I find myself grappling with.

This book is honestly a fascinating dialogue between a mother and a daughter, and a boomer and a millennial. In each chapter they look at a different aspect of the church and write about their pasts, their perspectives, and envision a future for each area. The discourse is around these topics: Creating Genuine Community, Being Kidcentric, Having an External Focus, Men and Women Leading Well Together, The Church's History of Exclusion and Oppression, and Creating a Healthy Culture.

The dual perspective of each chapter for me was the most fascinating part, because each generation has insights and thoughts that shape their perspective on each of these topics. And also just the ways in which Nancy Beach was involved in creating a church that was revolutionary, and the ways that her daughter Samantha deals with the fruit of that both the good and the bad, and addresses areas where a revival and reckoning is needed again.

This book I think would be wonderful for any church staff or community to read and discuss together as they work to envision a brighter future.

Thanks to IVP and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book for me honest opinion.

Christ is the one who is building his Church...I have no doubt it will continue. However, we have seen some dramatic changes and discussions in the church over the last few years. This book addresses many of these issues, such as race, gender, LGBTQ+ issues, and abuse. Young people have been leaving the church, and how the church has addressed these issues has definitely contributed to this.

I appreciate this book's approach: the mother/daughter team do a great job of bringing different perspectives (even if they acknowledge that as white women, their perspective is limited to the white church). The dual authorship is, for me, the strength of the book.

However, I'm not sure there is much here to distinguish this book from others. I appreciated their discussions on gender in the church, as well as hearing a bit from an insider's perspective on what went wrong at Willow Creek. I would have liked to read even more about Willow Creek, but I suspect they didn't want Willow to be the book's focus.

The authors presented us with long discussions on contemporary topics with quotes from many different authors, but almost nothing (if anything!) was rooted in Scripture. As the subtitle says, the book is a dialog. It's definitely not a study of any kind.

As I read the book, I got the feeling that I should simply love people. I agree that the American church has failed miserably to love well, but "Love Wins" isn't deep enough to guide my whole life.

Also, I suspect that when (if?) we are no longer talking about the pandemic, this book will feel dated.

If one of the topics covered by Beach and Kiley is something you are interested in, read a book focused on that topic. "Next Sunday" is a basic intro, and we do need to talk about these issues, but overall, the book is too shallow and lacking in Scriptural support for me to recommend to a friend.

(Thanks, netgalley, for a review copy of the book.)

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4535614056

This book is written for all those who love the Church and care too much about her to turn a blind eye to the obvious flaws and faults. Boomer, Nancy Beech and her Millenial daughter Samantha walk the reader through their experiences of the beauties and failures of the churches they have attended and ministered in. Nancy Beech speaks from the position of being a key leader of Willow Creek, South Barrington through its rise and the fall under the leadership of Bill Hybels. Together, the authors walk through core church issues such as community, children's ministry, justice, gender, sexuality, corporate gatherings, (un)healthy leadership and church culture. While the book is US-centric, the issues discussed by the authors apply widely to the western, evangelical church. I particularly appreciated Nancy Beech's discussion of the Willow Creek/Bill Hybels tragedy and her part in this - I felt it was genuine and honest. I also appreciated the discussion of Missional vs Attractional Churches and how there is an unnecessary tension between these approaches - both/and is completely possible and beneficial.

This is a book that looks to the future opportunities of the western church with a hard look at past successes and failures. The two-generational points of view provide a genuine innovation and surprisingly interesting overview. Whilst I do not agree with everything the authors state or hope for, I do find their thoughts both challenging and inspiring. The book admirably lives up to its subtitle "An Honest Dialogue About the Future of the Church". The tone is honest, open and positive without being "rose-tinted".

I enjoyed this book because of it's writing style, unique topic, and the fact that it really provided a thought-provoking experience. Recommended for readers who want to read slowly so as to take time to process.

"Next Sunday" is a wonderfully down-to-earth and candid relational exploration into the nuances of all things church. I love the generational juxtaposition between their different views and think anyone who cares about the status of religious refugees and church health will find this book deeply rewarding.