An expert practitioner answers to questions about the burgeoning organic church movement

Neil Cole's best-selling bookOrganic Church described the fastest growing segment of contemporary Christianity-the so-called organic church. Now in this next-step book, he answers questions about how to deal with theological and organizational issues that come up. He talks about issues such has what to do with finances, children, heresy, leader training, and rituals and ordinances. Without the top-down structure of a denomination, even people who are proponents of this small, house-church model worry that they are not doing it right.

Offers an important resource for anyone involved with or thinking of starting an organic or house churchAddresses practical issues of theology, rituals, doctrinal heresy, how to handle children, finances, and other important questionsWritten by an acknowledged expert who is now and has been for over twenty years an organic church planter and practitionerA new Leadership Network title and follow-up toOrganic Church

Church 3.0 offers solid information about organic churches based on Cole's extensive experience in starting, nurturing, and mentoring in the organic church movement.

neil cole is an experienced and innovative church planter and pastor. He is the founder of the Awakening Chapels, which are reaching young postmodern people in urban settings, and a founder and executive director of Church Multiplication Associates. He is the author ofOrganic Church as well asSearch and Rescue, Organic Leadership,andCultivating a Life for God.

About Leadership Network ix

Foreword xi

Preface xiii

Acknowledgments xvii

Introduction What About This Book? Shifting from Church 2.0 to 3.0 1

Part One Global Changes Demand a Better Church 13

1 What About the World We Live In? From a Village Church to a Global Village 15

2 What About Our Changing Culture? From Ministry in a Modern World to Postmodern 23

Part Two Structural Issues 43

3 What About the Church's Mission? From Coming to Going 45

4 What About Church Growth? From Incremental to Exponential 66

5 What About Church Models? Part One: From Congregations to Networks 92

6 What About Church Models? Part Two: From Centralized to Decentralized 116

7 What About Larger Gatherings? From One-Size-Fits-All to Tailored Groups for Effective Function 137

Part Three Pragmatic Concerns 163

8 What About Evangelism? From Drawing Converts to Catalyzing Movements 165

9 What About Baptism and Communion? From Sacerdotal Rituals to Apostolic Genius 189

10 What About Kids? From a Scholastic Model to a Spiritual Family 209

11 What About Heresy? From Better-Trained Pastors to Better-Trained People 222

12 What About Finances? From Ten Percent to the Whole Enchilada 241

Conclusion What About My Church? From Being Educated to Being Empowered 253

Notes 257

The Author 265

Index 267