I read Sticky Church by Larry Osborne last Friday and I must say that I really enjoyed it.  I knew the book was going to be good because I enjoy Larry Osborne’s stuff a great.  His candor and common sense are always refreshing.  This book, however, exceed my expectations.  It just hit me at the right time and I got a ton out of it. 

The book basically covers two topics.  First, it talks about the need to close the back door of the church and why that’s more important than you might think.  Second, it talks about sermon-based growth groups and how they are the most effective means of closing that back door.

We’ve been using the free-market small group model for a few years now at Fusion but earlier this year I became convinced that it didn’t meet our needs anymore.  There’s nothing wrong with that model but as a church grows some models just stop being effective.  That was the case for us so last quarter we switched over to sermon-based groups and the response of people in those groups has been outstanding.

This book wasn’t out when we made the switch but I wish it had been.  While we still have some work to do in getting more people involved in groups, this book reinforced for me the effectiveness of sermon-based groups and gave me some more nuts and bolts ideas on how to best implement them.

There’s a lot more to this little book too.  I like how Osborne details a subtle shift in focus as his church.  That resonated with me and with some of the things God has been speaking to me lately.

If you’re a pastor, I recommend this little book.  It will probably challenge you, and the way you look at groups, in a lot of good ways.