The Present Future: Six Tough Questions for the Church - Paperback

by Reggie McNeal (Author)

In this provocative book, author, consultant, and church leadership developer Reggie McNeal debunks these and other old assumptions and provides an overall strategy to help church leaders move forward in an entirely different and much more effective way. In The Present Future, McNeal identifies the six most important realities that church leaders must address including: recapturing the spirit of Christianity and replacing "church growth" with a wider vision of kingdom growth; developing disciples instead of church members; fostering the rise of a new apostolic leadership; focusing on spiritual formation rather than church programs; and shifting from prediction and planning to preparation for the challenges of an uncertain world. McNeal contends that by changing the questions church leaders ask themselves about their congregations and their plans, they can frame the core issues and approach the future with new eyes, new purpose, and new ideas.

Front Jacket

Praise for P F

The Present Future by Reggie McNeal is one of the most thought-provoking and ministry-stimulating books I have read in the past year. Subtitled Six Tough Questions for the Church, McNeal paints a vivid picture of the need for and emergence of missional congregations and apostolic leaders for the twenty-first century. His critique of the decline and baggage of the modern church is right on target and is very useful to pastors and leaders who are struggling with the idea that just doing the same thing better and harder will create a better ministry outcome.
--TransformingChurch.com

Christian leaders will find great questions being answered in this compelling and motivating work that unwraps what McNeal calls 'the realities of the present future' in the church today.
-- Kelvin Gardiner, district superintendent, Christian and Missionary Alliance.

This book is a rare find in which McNeal lovingly challenges the church with a spirit of adventure and rediscovery.
--The Rt. Rev. Charles Jenkins, Bishop, The Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana

Back Jacket

Praise for The Present Future

"The Present Future by Reggie McNeal is one of the most thought-provoking and ministry-stimulating books I have read in the past year. Subtitled Six Tough Questions for the Church, McNeal paints a vivid picture of the need for and emergence of missional congregations and apostolic leaders for the twenty-first century. His critique of the decline and baggage of the modern church is right on target and is very useful to pastors and leaders who are struggling with the idea that just doing the same thing better and harder will create a better ministry outcome."
--TransformingChurch.com

"Christian leaders will find great questions being answered in this compelling and motivating work that unwraps what McNeal calls 'the realities of the present future' in the church today."
-- Kelvin Gardiner, district superintendent, Christian and Missionary Alliance.

"This book is a rare find in which McNeal lovingly challenges the church with a spirit of adventure and rediscovery."
--The Rt. Rev. Charles Jenkins, Bishop, The Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana

Author Biography

Reggie McNeal serves as the Missional Leadership Specialist for Leadership Network of Dallas, Texas. McNeal is the author of Missional Renaissance, A Work of Heart, and Practicing Greatness from Jossey-Bass.

Leadership Network fosters church innovation and growth through strategies, programs, tools, and resources consistent with their far-reaching mission. Contact Leadership Network at www.leadnet.org.