Healing the Heart of Your Church

by Kenneth Quick, Julie Becker (Illustrator), Stuart Hoffman (Editor)

The statistics documenting pastoral unhappiness and frustration are everywhere. Most surveys indicate that eight out of ten pastors consider themselves discouraged in ministry. What s more, most pastors have heard the super ministry success stories and have tried to implement many of the same principles in their church only to see the same failed results they always have. Why?

The difference between success and us.

Many of the success stories we have heard of come from church plants where the founding pastors have been a part of the vision and growth from the beginning. However, in many small, medium and large churches, there were problems rooted in the church s history and pattern of behaving before we even got there. This history and these behaviors derail any leadership attempt to lead the church to significant church growth. The frustrated pastor usually has no clue where that brick wall came from or how it got there, and certainly no idea how to remove it.

The premise of this book is that the Lord of the Church does not let much else happen corporately dynamic spiritual growth, God s kind of love demonstrated in relationships, revival or renewal, to name a few until these wrongs are righted and the wounds receive attention.

The author shares his story of how the Lord helped him lead his church through the corporate healing process. He gives biblical guidelines on why this is necessary and how you can do it too. Healing topics
Past Shame Sinful reactivity
Splits Pastors who abuse
Churches that abuse pastors
While the road to healing may not be easy, it is possible and necessary.

Paperback

First published June 10, 2003

Reviews

[Richard Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Healing the Heart of Your Church is a theological handbook for walking through a spiritually healing process in congregations with past unhealed hurt. Kenneth Quick is adamant that sins of the past must be confessed and dealt with before there will be healing. He is correct. He takes us through what that process of uncovering, responsibly exploring, confessing, and receiving healing might look like in multiple scenarios: pastoral abuse of a church, congregational abuse of a pastor, schism, and other congregational failures. This book could be a valuable tool for leaders to help their churches move to health.

The theology of this book doesn't fit my Wesleyn, connectional position. This book assumes that pastors are male and that church polity is congregational. There is a monergist assumption that the hurts of the past were from God to unveil weaknesses in the church and its members. I strongly disagree with Quick. There is ample evidence in the biblical text and church history that God calls women into all areas of church ministry. My tradition has a modified episcopal polity that requires adjusting Quick's procedures, though not much change is needed other than bringing in conference leadership to aid in the process. The idea that God would cause the sin of the church is antithetical to the character of God revealed in the Bible. However, keeping these three issues in mind, the book is still a valuable resource, even if it shouldn't be released into the wilds of a congregation.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This opened my eyes to the damage that un-confessed sin can do to a church body. Dr. Quick walked with our church through the process and I highly recommend reading this if you are any type of Pastor.