Book Review — Reclaiming Glory: Revitalizing Dying Churches 

Mark Clifton. Nashville: B&H Books, 2016. 176 pp. (Paperback).

Here’s a startling statistic for you: every year 900 Southern Baptist churches disappear. Most of them, according to author Mark Clifton, simply close their doors. And, according to LifeWay Research, only 15 percent of our churches are “healthy, growing and multiplying.” As Clifton notes, we hear a lot about planting churches, but little about revitalizing churches that have plateaued or are in decline.

Clifton has a suggestion: Perhaps we should consider salvaging those unhealthy churches. Knowing what I do about dying churches, I had the same thought many of you will have — churches die for a reason, don’t they? I mean, isn’t it easier just to start a congregation from scratch than to deal with old squabbles, turf wars and changes in demographics? The author has a ready answer for us: Yes, it is easier, but “what’s right and what’s expedient are rarely the same in Jesus’ economy.” Ouch.

The book is a kind of “how-to” for those who might feel called to lead a dying church into new life, but also a call to arms for leaders to put themselves and their ministry on the line by attempting to turn these churches around. “What is there about a dying church that brings glory to God? Nothing.”

Clifton is lead national strategist for replanting/revitalization at the North American Mission Board.

—By Martine Bates Fairbanks, TAB Media Reviewer

Editor’s Note — Martine Bates Fairbanks, Ed.D., reviews books and movies for The Alabama Baptist. She is a university professor and retired principal. She is a member of Central Baptist Church, Decatur.