Lyle E. Schaller - Wisdom from Lyle E. Schaller: The Elder Statesman of Church Leadership

wisdom from LYLE E. SCHALLER

Praise for Wisdom from Lyle E. Schaller

Lyle Schallers insights have been a game changer for my leadership.

Rick Warren, Lead Pastor, Saddleback Church, Lake Forest, CA

Lyle Schaller changed my ministry. He told me that I think too small, and he was right! Let his writings stretch you in the same way.

Craig Groeschel, Senior Pastor of LifeChurch.tv

Author of Soul Detox: Clean Living in a Contaminated World

Im thrilled to recommend to you Wisdom from Lyle E. Schaller so that you can benefit from the insight of the greatest American thought leader on church life in the 20th century.

Dave Ferguson, Lead Pastor, Community Christian Church, and Movement Leader, NewThing.org

World-renowned consultant Lyle Schaller has personally consulted with almost 6,000 churches and is a legend in the field of church consulting. My friend Warren Bird has chosen excerpts of Schallers best consults, each introduced by a story of how they worked. Its fascinating stuff.

Ed Stetzer, author and popular blogger at www.edstetzer.com

I credit Schallers books for clarifying my call into ministry, and I hope this fascinating mini-biography and selection of insightful quotes will point others to Schallers wisdom.

Tammy Kelley, Founder, Intelligent Design, Inc., previous senior staff at Willow Creek Community Church and Ginghamsburg United Methodist Church

As a young seminarian, while serving as a youth pastor, I first heard the name Lyle Schaller spoken by leaders who I respected. They spoke of him as a mystical, Moses-like character who had the wisdom of Solomon. He was a catalyzing influence in my life who gave me permission to dream bigger dreams for the beautiful mess that is the local church.

Jorge Acevedo, Lead Pastor, Grace Church, Cape Coral, Fort Myers Shores and Fort Myers Central campuses, Grace Community Center

Lyle Schaller has had an incalculable impact upon American Christianity. He has devoted his life to challenging, encouraging, and sometimes cajoling church leaders in the hope of seeing congregations renewed and disciples made.

Adam Hamilton, Senior Pastor, Church of the Resurrection, Leawood, KS

I highly recommend this wonderful collection of excerpts that would be an asset to any person in any ministry. It will be especially helpful to lay people as well as ministers.

John Ed Mathison, Pastor Emeritus, Frazer United Methodist Church, Montgomery, AL

Whether you grew up on Schaller or are new to him, this is must reading for anyone looking for wise advice and helpful planning.

Jeff Spiller, Senior Pastor, Christ United Methodist Church, Mobile, AL

WISDOM FROM LYLE E. SCHALLER

Copyright 2012 by Abingdon Press

All rights reserved.

No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission can be addressed to Permissions, The United Methodist Publishing House, P.O. Box 801, 201 Eighth Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37202-0801, or e-mailed to .

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Wisdom from Lyle E. Schaller / edited and compiled by Warren Bird.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.

ISBN 978-1-4267-4910-0 (book - pbk. / trade pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Pastoral theology. 2. Schaller, Lyle E. I. Bird, Warren.

BV4011.3.W57 2012

253dc23

2012027606

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2110 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

CONTENTS

PREFACE

with insights from Leith Anderson and Herb Miller

My first exposure to Lyle Schaller was through his books. Like many young pastors, I needed a lot of coaching, so for a season I attended every ministry conference I could find. To those conference speakers who seemed particularly insightful, I asked about their mentors. More times than not, they said, Lyle Schaller. The ministry coach I liked the very best pushed it even farther: Young man, read every Schaller book that you can find.

So I did. Or at least I decided to, only to find out that Schaller has authored fifty-five books and edited quite a few others (see the list in the appendixSchallers Ninety-Six Books). His books total over three million words, not including over five hundred magazine articles and published interviews. To top it off, an even bigger portion of his printed words is in private reports to various churches. Consider the three hundred church reports and several dozen judicatory-level reportsfilling a shelf six feet acrossthat he donated to the United Methodist archive at Drew University, Madison, New Jersey.

Yet after polishing off one Schaller title after another, I was always curious to learn more. In the years since my initial challenge, its been a rare season that I havent read or re-read a Schaller book or magazine article. With each Schaller title I marked up, I came to understand more about how churches really work. I saw that Schaller is a man of deep faith, rooting for churches to be successful, but someone also with the rare ability to apply social science concepts in practical ways. He helped me feel that many of my frustrations as a pastor, as well as those of the congregation I was trying to serve, happened because we didnt understand the basic social principles that operate in all human organizations, including congregations. Perhaps more than anyone else, Schaller through his writing helped me select sociology of religion as the subject for my doctorate.

Schaller is a man of deep faith, rooting for churches to be successful.

Along the way I learned that Schaller had been voted as Americas foremost influencer of thinking about the churchs life and mission today, according to a survey

I also met Schaller a number of times, which further increased my admiration and respect for him. One of our encounters took place serendipitously in Chicagos OHare airport. I was boarding a connecting flight to a Leadership Network conference where he was the speaker. He was just ahead of me in the line to board the flight, and I was impressed that he traveled coach. When we landed, I found him again, this time with me in the line for the cheapo shuttle, the one that stops at a bunch of different hotels including the one hosting our conference. Eager for an excuse to talk with him, I offered to carry his suitcase. He seemed a bit taken aback, but allowed me to do so, and we chatted. A week later I received a sweet letter from his wife, Agnes, thanking me for taking care of her husband of almost fifty years en route to the conference.

Little did I know that my admiration of Schaller would be converted into a book. When the editors at Abingdon Press, friends who know Im a huge Schaller fan, approached me with this project, I immediately said yes. I find Schallers insights as relevant and fresh today as when he first inked them. His focus is generally on the reasons behind ministry decisions, principles of why churches do or dont want to grow, and how church leaders can better anticipate tomorrow in our congregational planning. These issues remain just as relevant from one decade to the next.