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Reviewed by Rev. Patricia Farris, Senior Minister, Santa Monica First United Methodist Church 95 Questions to Shape the Future of Your Church: Tools to Fulfill the Congregation’s Mission, by Thomas G. Bandy Abingdon Press, 2009 This book is not for the faint of heart! In his by now familiar provocative way, Thomas Bandy gives the church a loud wake-up call. The title, 95 Questions, is meant to evoke the spirit of Martin Luther’s 95 theses, nailed to the door of the Wittenberg cathedral. Bandy deliberately posits questions rather than theses, though his book is full of theses about what is needed to reform and revive the church. Amidst the vast array of books, methods, processes, and church consultants, Bandy describes this resource as a comprehensive tool for what church assessment ought to include. Whereas Luther’s leverage for reformation was theological, Bandy’s is missiological. One of Bandy’s theses is clearly that reform of the church will not come through doctrinal debates or by reconciling political differences. It will only happen, he maintains, when the church rediscovers its heart for mission. Followers of Bandy will again delight in the clarity and forthrightness of his approach. At times a bit heavy-handed (clearly, no one could accuse him of excess subtlety or nuance!) Bandy hammers home his perspective. Twenty-first century reformation is all about sharing clearly and daringly the welcome relief of the gospel with those who are strangers to grace, he maintains—a premise which should not sound like a foreign language to followers of John Wesley. Bandy’s “compare and contrast” framework for maintenance and missional congregations is insightful and disturbing—disturbing in the way that the Spirit always stirs up the wind and the waters and the soul. God causes this stress, he maintains, and it is designed to prod growth and faithfulness, centered in accountability, and missional urgency. The book is chock-full of specific questions to ask oneself and the congregation, all with the aim of moving the church to authentic growth. For Bandy, this authentic growth is defined in two words: deeper, further. As he puts it, authentic growth is all about going deeper and deeper into the mystery of Jesus the Christ, and going further and further with the Christ on the road to mission. Together, this directional imperative forms the template for evaluating what Bandy calls life-shaping worship, accountable-continuous spiritual disciplines, and personal-passionate mission action. In order for this to occur, Bandy maintains, the congregation and its leaders must be committed to leadership development, including the notion of leaders as mentors of newly-forming disciples, rather than program management. To focus on this point, Bandy explores what he calls sidetracks to the spiritual life: the sidetrack of membership privilege, the sidetrack of committees and task groups, and the sidetrack of mere philanthropy. Church leaders and clergy who aren’t by this point in the book wincing and screaming “ouch” are probably not being totally truthful about where their congregations are really focused. Bandy’s prescription for growth contains within it a profound critique of the state many congregations find themselves in. Healing and new life can come through the acknowledgement and naming of pain. Bandy’s chapter on co-dependent patterns of stress habits offers insight to pastors and lay leadership alike. The keys to growth lie, then, in attitude, systemic change, and purpose. The book’s ninety-five questions are grouped into 3 subsets: foundational questions, functional questions, and formal questions. Actual questionnaire templates are provided, to be implemented and analyzed. Bandy then also provides commentary on the questions and various responses, providing deeper insight into the actual state of the congregation and its potential for missional growth. “Your fate is in your own hands.” Bandy’s central challenge offers hope and opens the door to tremendous growth potential. The window of opportunity for God’s grace never closes, he asserts. Further, deeper—go if you dare. For all who risk pushing beyond comfort zones and who have sought a resource and map to plot the way, Bandy’s 95 Questions will come as a welcome, if oft-times needling, guidebook. But remember, Bandy would add: “God loves to stress people out! . . . and God is stressing out the church in order to drive church leaders and members closer to God.” 
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