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Reviewed by Ralph Cushman Wood, pastor of Speedway United Methodist Church, Indianapolis, IN Can These Bones Live? by Kevass J. Harding One of the major challenges facing The United Methodist Church is racial and cultural change. Many predominantly white, middle class churches find themselves in communities which are undergoing these transitions but the church is dying. Too often we have given up on these churches and assume that there is no hope for renewal. Kevass Harding’s Can These Bones Live? offers inspiration and challenge for churches and pastors, bishops and district superintendents who refuse to give up. This former police offer tells his story of leading Dellrose United Methodist Church in Wichita through the transition. The community underwent a racial change in the late 1980s, and a study group within the congregation began to articulate the need to undergo a radical change in order to face this challenge. He shares how the first cross racial appointment was not successful. He recounts how he was mentored and called into ministry through his home church. He describes how he faced the loss of most of the church’s members in the first weeks of his appointment after he changed the style of worship. And he shares the stories of new members and how their lives have been changed. These stories give testimony to his hope “that this book can help move you from the notion that you must be a ‘megachurch’ to do ministry.” Based on Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones (Ezekiel 37), Harding outlines the three major areas of transformation which make for successful renewal. He began with “reaching the lost” by rebuilding worship. The next steps included “teaching the found” by rebuilding discipleship programs and “sending the taught” by developing outreach ministries. When all three areas work together they create renewal. Lest the reader assumes that leading a congregation through racial transition and renewal is simply a matter of demographics, Harding shares this insight: “Just changing the race of the pastor will not bring revitalization. As a matter of fact, I don’t care what color or sex a pastor is, if the pastor and congregation do not have a passion and a desire to meet the needs and cultural patterns of the new residents, death is surely ready to knock at the church’s door.” Wise words for any cabinet or pastor parish relations committee who are contemplating such a move. A word of caution to the reader about how to read this book. The best way to read this book is as a testimony. It is one pastor and one church’s story and we can draw insight and inspiration from it, regardless of whether our specific context is the same. Do not read this book as a “how-to” guide. The specific examples and samples in the book can be found in other places. We should avoid trying to copy what another church has done, as if there is a cookie cutter approach to congregational renewal. However, if you read between the lines in Can These Bones Live you will see that much of their renewal has to do with the passion and character of the pastor and the willingness of the congregation. This is where we can learn from their story. As you read it give God thanks for this testimony of renewal.
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