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Take a look at the cover art for Church Inside Out

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CIOOK, so I told you last week that I’d be sharing the cover art for my upcoming book. Looks like everything is official now and off to the presses, so I can let you take a peek.

As I said, I’m excited about this book because I think there is some information that can be very useful to churches. Don’t mean to sound immodest there, it’s just that there are many things that I’ve learned from others that I’ve compiled here.

The other books I’ve written have been mainly informational or mainly inspirational. I hope this one will be both of those, but above all, I want it to be practical.

That’s one reason there will also be a workbook with the book. We debated whether or not to include the workbook materials in the book itself, but there was just too much there. The workbook will be 90 pages, even after we moved the group material to the main book. There are 13 chapters, which will allow churches on a quarterly system to use the book and workbook in classes or small groups.

Now comes the hard part, of course… waiting for the book to officially come out. Until it does, I’ll keep refining the seminar that I’ll present over the same material.

Church Inside Out goes to press

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printing pressOkay, I guess it’s close enough to start talking about it. Church Inside Out is laid out and ready for press. The workbook is soon to follow. Both should be out sometime this Spring, available from 21st Century Christian.

What’s Church Inside Out? Well, for one thing, it’s the first book I’ve published that I’m the sole author of. It’s also a book that has a lot of me in it. That is, it’s a mix of things I’ve read over the years, things I’ve observed over the years, and things I’ve lived over the years.

Specifically, Church Inside Out is a book about outreach. As the subtitle says, it’s about “Getting church insiders out to bring outsiders in.” It’s designed to be a practical book, with lots of lists and concrete suggestions on things that churches can do to have a greater impact on their communities.

The workbook takes that a step forward. It takes the ideas in the book and leads the reader to a time of analysis and planning for action.

Ideally, the books would be studied in a group setting. Since many churches still operate on a quarterly system, the material is presented in 13 chapters. Each chapter has a “For The Group” section at the end, with a proposed format for a group discussion time.

I’ve also begun presenting the material in seminar format (booked through Hope For Life, a Herald of Truth ministry), with four sessions mirroring the four sections of the book:

  • The Church Inside
  • The World Outside
  • The Church Goes Out
  • Outsiders No More

As time goes on, I’ll share the cover art and a bit more about the contents.

I’m excited. As I told a friend, I hope that this will help churches be more active in reaching out to their communities, even if only by sparking thought and discussion of the topic.

Above all, may God be glorified.