Excellent Protestant Congregations: The Guide to Best Places and Practices
This readable survey of "state of the art" Protestant churches in the United States by religious journalist and Roman Catholic Wilkes (The Good Enough Catholic) offers success stories to inspire pastors and lay leaders. Wilkes's lively, journalistic narratives of the successes of nine diverse congregations, from affluent mainline churches to inner-city evangelical groups, focus on practical aspects of implementation. He describes the common traits these churches share (vision, energy, and optimism but not necessarily money) in a useful checklist for clergy and lay leaders. The book ends with a 60-page annotated list of "excellent" congregations in 38 states. Wilkes touts this as a Michelin-style "best" list, but its lack of geographic balance is disturbing. Strongly weighted in favor of Southern and Western congregations, it is regrettably sparse in its listings for Northeastern states and indicates hasty work and the lack of an objective survey instrument. Thus, this is recommended for larger public and church libraries as an inspirational tool but not a reference book. [The companion volume, Excellent Catholic Parishes, was published by Paulist Press in March. Ed.] Joyce W. Smothers, Monmouth Cty. Lib., Manalapan, N.- Joyce W. Smothers, Monmouth Cty. Lib., Manalapan, NJCopyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.