Kicking Habits: Welcome Relief for Addicted Churches

by Thomas G. Bandy

Book Overview

An upgrade to the ground-breaking book that has shown thousands of congregations how to overcome the destructive attitudes and systems that prevent them from focusing on their true mission: making disciples of Jesus Christ. In this upgraded edition, Bandy continues to explore the meaning of walking with Jesus in the 21st century. Drawing on the stories of exciting new congregations that have arisen within the last few years, he sharpens his portrayal...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0687049342
• ISBN13: 9780687049349
• Release Date: May 2001
• Publisher: Abingdon Press
• Length: 266 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A book to shake up your thinking

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.

Relief for Addicted Churches

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!

A Stream of "ah-HAH's!"

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.

Vital for catching a new vision

This book is invaluable for anyone in leadership in the established institutional churches. It made me squirm more than once, but it also gave me the clearest picture of why the mainline churches are in decline I've gotten from any source. Bandy uses a narrative of a young couple who are church shopping to illustrate his points, and it hits very close to home. You'll recognize it all. The title, incidentally, is a bit too narrow for the topic -- this is a work about change in every system of church life. Everyone who wonders what the heck has happened to make churches that used to work in the 50s fall into irrelevance and decline should read this book.

Don't read it... You may leave your "churchness"...

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.