In Transforming Church in Rural America, Shannon O’Dell describes his journey from being the pastor of a vibrant, growing metropolitan church to pastoring in a city in Arkansas with a population of 88. He details the struggles of growing a small, traditional church that says it wants change, but resists it. O’Dell relates personal anecdotes and gives advice to those who wish to see growth in their local church. When I first received this book, I was a little skeptical, because I’ve seen this type of book before: some guy was successful, and now he thinks his method will work in your church. I was pleasantly surprised, though, by several things in the book: 1) O’Dell is not as concerned […]