If you have been a Christian and a church member for very long, it is likely you have been a member of a declining congregation. It is probably safe to say the majority of churches in America are in a state of decline. They have become old, hanging on to traditions that no longer work or perhaps trying to make wholesale changes in order to breathe new life.
It is difficult work to lead a church out of a declining condition. But, as James Hassell shows us, it is not impossible work. Out of his experience as a pastor, he explains the necessity and possibility of “Seeing New Light.” In other words, in order to come back to life, the church does not need to make drastic changes in style and substance. What is necessary is to look within and at the world around and see with a new understanding.
Dr. William Tillman says, “the catalytic agency among James Hassell’s ideas are what you are looking for to do some reforming of your own where you are.” As you study this book you will be equipped to see your own church and situation with new light and quite possibly discover the path to new life.
Dr. James Hassell is the Preaching Pastor of Agape Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas. He also served as the Pastor of First Baptist Church in Tulia and as Associate Pastor at the First Baptist Church of Bedford, Texas. James serves on the Board of Trustees for the T.B. Maston Foundation and is active in the Baptist General Convention of Texas, preaching the convention’s Annual Sermon in 2011. He was educated at Hardin-Simmons University, Logsdon Seminary, and George W. Truett Theological Seminary. He has written for the Baptist Standard, the Logsdon Window, and the T.B. Maston Foundation’s “Weighty Matters” blog.
