Read along with the GPS folks

If you'd like to look at some of the material Second's GPS task force is looking at to prepare a strategic plan, here's a reading list of books and Web sites. Feel free to read along with the task force. And if you have questions, comments or ideas for other material we should consider, send them to secondplan11@gmail.com or put a note in the church file folder of Bill Tammeus, the GPS moderator.

• Open Source Church, by the Rev. Landon Whitsitt. Core ideas found at: http://www.alban.org/bookdetails.aspx?id=9574

• Good to Great and the Social Sectors, by Jim Collins, found at: http://www.amazon.com/Good-Great-Social-Sectors-Monograph/dp/0977326403/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1308682010&sr=1-1 or http://amzn.to/mSTdm6

• The Great Emergence, by Phyllis Tickle. A wonderful long-term context setter for all the turmoil going on now in Christianity. Found at: http://amzn.to/kVH85r.

• Three books from PCUSA Research Services: A Field Guide to U.S. Congregations, Beyond the Ordinary: Ten Strengths of U.S. Congregations and Places of Promise: Finding Strength in Your Congregation’s Location.

Web sites:

• http://www.stmaa.net/?q=content/let%E2%80%99s-build-house-all-are-welcome, the strategic plan Leta Anderson, our professional planner, helped lead for St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church. Or, if this is easier, it’s at: http://bit.ly/lAK0m0

• http://www.newchicagochurch.com/ New Church, Chicago.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U A video about new paradigms in education with possible lessons for our task force

• http://www.alban.org/ The Alban Institute, which consults with churches on many subjects

• http://www.pcusa.org/news/2010/12/21/wcrc-drafts-programmatic-objectives-next-6-years/, or http://bit.ly/iS07hf. We’re not the only ones doing a strategic plan. So is the World Communion of Reformed Churches.

• http://gamc.pcusa.org/ministries/today/what-presbyterians-believe-special-issue/, or http://bit.ly/mc2gUk. The new “What Presbyterians Believe” special issue of Presbyterians Today magazine.

• http://www.pcusa.org/resource/us-congregational-life-survey-fastest-growing-pres or http://bit.ly/juqt7s. A PCUSA pdf to browse, 20 pages of graphs and statistics showing what growing churches do differently than others.

• http://www.patheos.com/community/breyeschow/2011/06/22/we-are-presbyterian-2011-videos/ or at http://bit.ly/ivcja6. This is the “We Are Presbyterian” video project.

• http://www.alban.org/conversation.aspx?id=9687 = An Alban Institute piece about “Reimagining Organization” by Donald Zimmer.

• http://churchfromscratch.org/stop-starting-with-church = A YouTube video about new thinking about church.
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• http://www.alban.org/conversation.aspx?id=9740 =  An Alban Institute piece about doing good ministry in an old urban setting.