Real Good Church: How Our Church Came Back from the Dead and Yours Can, Too

by Molly Phinney Baskette

"This is a practical manual of everything our church did," says author Molly Phinney Baskette, "to reverse our death spiral and become the healthy, stable, spirited and robust community it is today evident in the large percentage of children and young adults in our church, and a sixfold increase in pledged giving in the last decade." Baskette, pastor of First Church Somerville UCC in the Boston area, strongly believes her church's strategies will work for any church, in any setting, regardless of denomination, demographics, and political landscape. Here, in her new book, Real Good Church: How Our Church Came Back from the Dead, and Yours Can, Too, she shares everything her church did, addressing topics such as: outreach and growth strategies, finances and giving, creative worship, including personal testimony and corporate prayer, church conflict and change, anxiety and humor, and much more.

Genres: Nonfiction, Christianity, Church, Theology, Religion

228 pages, Paperback

First published June 16, 2014

Reviews

[LeeAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has been highly recommended from several friends, and I agree: it is a useful tool with helpful hints and practical ideas for those tiny churches that need new life. As the author states in the beginning, the book isn't meant to be a "cure-all" for everyone. Instead, she means for individuals to read and take to heart the pieces that are most applicable. I had lots of "aha" moments while reading, and somehow felt encouraged that my tiny church can begin the road to recovery and growth. I think the most important thing I came away from this book with is a feeling of hope! Yes, all churches are different, but the heart of ministry is spiritual growth! (And I plan to reread this book over the next week with my highlighter in hand, taking some notes, and THEN comes the real work!)

[Tara Tetzlaff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, quick reading with some great ideas. At times, though, it seemed a bit too self-congratulatory and divorced from the reality of what the majority of small churches in need of renewal look like. For example, the author bemoans the fact that they don't really have any retirees and the challenge of getting people to serve in leadership when average church members age is only 31. For these reasons the book could be a rather disheartening and annoying read for the many whose churches need revitalization but struggle because the congregation is "well-aged".

[Ben Smitthimedhin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book was ok. There were some good ideas here and there about how she organizes meetings, creates a culture of pastoral care among the members, structures worship, and so on. But most of it felt pretty broad and perhaps a bit more unique to her parish culture.

Baskette's success (by her own admission) owes much to her advertising her parish as pro-LGBTQ+ with pride flags out front. Sure, I think we can learn how marketing your values is an important step. Still, I can't help but feel like she rode the deconstruction trend and found an audience with the "rebelling against fundamentalism" crowd. I'm also not a fan of flying any type of flag in front of a church. Any parish with flags out front (be it a national or a pride flag) signals the type of audience she welcomes and the type she wishes to exclude, whether intentional or not.

[Nathan Willard · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want some straightforward talk about orienting your mind and church towar a mindset of motion rather than stasis, this is a great and accessible book. While it doesn't get into a lot of deeper questions (and I think it's much more useful in an urban area or growing suburb than a lot of other places), it makes a daunting task a little easier.

One example: Do you have a church with an interior that hasn't been touched in 30 years? Start looking for small changes you can make. Over time, they snowball and you can move on to major renovation projects. In our church, we've completely overhauled the entryway one step at a time over the past year or so. Is it perfect? No. But we're more used to making changes.

[Laura Kisthardt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow this was a great book! I am just out of seminary and I loved how practical Rev. Baskette’s writing is. She shares what helped their church grow. She talks about bathrooms, parades, tithing, and so much more. I enjoyed her humorous tone and friendly writing style. I could see this being a book I turn to again after being in a church for a year or so. Reading it now was a little bit like drinking from the firehose. Too much to take in at once and not a lot I can immediately act on. But she made me excited about a future call to a church!

[Evelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read quite a few books about thriving churches recently, and this one offered many great ideas for church growth and leadership. The book is one I will reference often in my ministry. My one complaint is that the author makes ministry and growing churches look very easy in an age where few people want to commit the time for church attendance. I still look forward to trying Baskette's ideas and hope to share in her enthusiasm for church growth.

[Lauren Wallace · Rating 1 out of 5]

"The sheep know the the sound of the Shepard's voice" (18)

I honestly found this book to be super toxic and had some strong ideas about mental health. I feel like this book is looking to make the church more into a community centre instead of a church. There was some good ideas for growth, however, there some big issues I couldn't overlook.

This book was a quick read, as I read it in a day!

I don't think I would recommend this book.

[JJ Bellfrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a consistory member of a UCC church going through a transitional period, this was a helpful read. Though it is definitely written more toward the pastor/minister. However it still has great ideas that can be implemented by the wider church. It also gives some insight into what would be realistic expectations of a pastor/minister. The humor helped break through what is a dense and boring topic.

[Naomi Turiano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick and easy read on how to do church well with input and energy from folks who attend it. I loved how practical it was, and how open it was about relationship issues/conflict and how to sort those out.

[Peg Weissbrod · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great ideas, very positive outlook

[Melinda Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book that is a must-read for all who are in pastoral ministry today. Great, practical advice. I am going to keep referencing this as I pastor a re-start.

[Cara Spaccarelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most practical church growth book I've ever read.

[Charlotte Toyne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really love the conversational and funny way this is written! It provides so many great ideas and values.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very encouraging!

[Meghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit old but the advice seems to have aged well, even post pandemic. Full of important advice on what healthy church looks like.

[Vicki Crainer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Revitalized your church.

I would recommend this book to any one who wants to revitalize their own church work and the work and life of their church.

[M Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of good ideas, some of which I’d seen elsewhere, some of which I discovered through trial and error, some of which I’ve tried. Recommended for pastors and lay leaders.

[Tricia Price · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for our church council. Some good ideas to try; not all of them will work for every church, but every church could probably find at least a few strategies that might help them.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had some good ideas for our church leadership to pursue.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

My church is withering on the vine, and for the past few years we've been re-visioning ourselves. This book was chosen by the interim pastor for a book study in which I participated. This is a very readable book on some levels, but it definitely challenges the entrenched culture many mainline churches share. Unless a congregation is willing to radically change its culture, that congregation will probably not survive. That's the discouraging take away. On the other hand, this is the story of how one dying congregation resurrected itself. Many of the ideas and suggestions are spot-on: preach and teach with authenticity, know your demographics, use technology to communicate, eliminate jargon and coded language, be visible and active in your community, make your building attractive and easy to navigate. Knowing that there are concrete steps, many of which are inexpensive, is encouraging. Our church had already begun some of these suggestions, and are implementing others. However, I think that the author, Rev. Molly Baskette, vastily underestimates her role in the change process. I think this process may be too difficult to maintain for the length of time it needs without consistent, committed leadership and direction.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you feel stagnant in your church? Do you feel like the "old guard" runs the church, and you could do so much more in your church? Read this book.

A really good book to get a different perspective on your church. Even if your church is considered "traditional," heck, even archaic -- in the sense of the old guard running the church -- it will give you great ideas.

I had the pleasure of meeting her, and listening to her Keynote during Synod, and thought I would give the book a shot. I'm so glad I did. I felt inspired with a bunch of ideas after reading this. My take is that there's a gap between the much more Progressive churches that do tons of outreach, and other older churches who do little to no outreach, and it's "worship and go home until next Sunday."\

[Al Gritten · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an easily readable book that narrates Phinney Baskette’s experiences at revitalizing her church. She writes well and offers many ideas that could be helpful depending on your context and so it was, therefore, worth the time to explore. However, I found some of her suggestions at revitalization were much more applicable to urban settings and some were neither new nor innovative but were things I am already using or have already tried and rejected. It is still worth a look if you are struggling to lead a revitalization effort but I, personally, was hoping for more ideas than I actually came away with.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is entirely practical, one pastor/congregation's successful experience revitalizing a particular congregation. Little theory here, but plenty of support for adapting for context and try these ideas and resources in strategic ways. There's plenty of wit and self-deprecation to shape this less as a how-to manual than an encouraging set of possibilities.

[Jan Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Molly Phinney Baskette offers wonderful practical advice for anyone seeking to make their church more open, inviting, and relevant. I am glad our pastor recommended it! I can't wait to discuss it with other members and friends in our church.

[Kathy England · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read about this book somewhere and decided to read it. It's really written for pastors but had a lot of food for thought for the layperson as well. Worth the read.

[Jessie Lowry · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite kind of books about ministry in the church or ones that are intensely practical, almost absurdly down-to-earth and this fits the bill! I feel empowered and energized for the work ahead

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

interesting reading for church leaders

[Etta Madden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very practical AND inspiring! An easy ready and one of the best "how to" books I've read in years!

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Availing myself of the pastor’s bookshelf at my current interim. Upbeat and practical book, with some excellent food for thought.