Sweet says focus on Christ, center in Scripture, take risks, cast vision, commit to teamwork, and communicate. Leaders must learn to understand tradition, use music wisely, remember the importance of rest, and develop prayerful intuition. One great contribution is his case for using the Internet in advancing the church. The exercises with each chapter are also helpful. Rainer gives a traditional view of church growth, but with a twist.
Conventional wisdom says increase the flow of people from the culture into the church.
Rainer says grow by closing the back door. He relies on solid research, not theories or programs that work in but a few churches. The higher the expectation, the more likely they are to stay. Rainer interviewed many church leaders to prove that demanding churches are more effective. I intend to share this widely among my staff and lay leadership.