Transforming Church in Rural America by Shannon O'Dell

Transforming Church in Rural America is a book with an interesting concept on how to grow rural churches so that they will be more productive, draw in more people, and most of all be able to afford to run and maintain their church buildings. I can really see how some of the ideas in the book might be useful, but I was so bothered by a few of the flippant points that were made that it really put me off of this book. The one comment that stuck out in my mind was when Mr. O'dell was speaking of the little brass plaques on the pews that he wanted to take out of the church. When he made the comment about the seven dollar clock having a memorial plaque it really bothered me. Someones family had donated the clock in someones honor and here he was criticizing the cost of the clock, and truthfully he speaks of money quite often in the book. Whether he is speaking of a ministers small salary, or wanting to add a bathroom to the church, its money. I have always attended an out in the sticks rural church, and the one thing that these churches have that is often lost when a church grows into a mega church is that individual attention you receive and the wonderful feeling of attending a church where everybody knows each other.