Just Say Yes: Unleashing People for Ministry - Softcover

The church says ‘no’ in a thousand ways, squelching and constraining creative people who want to use the gifts God has given them to serve and lead. Sometimes our ‘no’ is explicit and other times we restrain innovation in more nuanced and even unintentional ways. And everyone in the church is guilty of ‘no-saying’—pastors, laity, and staff. In some corners it seems like nearly anything new is eyed with suspicion.

Just Say Yes! shows how to unleash disciples, giving them permission and encouragement to be bold and fruitful followers of Christ. It helps pastors and other leaders examine the systems, attitudes, and dynamics that restrain, control, and diminish ministry. It provides insights and practical help for those who want be more adept at initiating ministry, more open to innovation and experimentation for the purposes of Christ.

Robert Schnase is bishop of the Rio Texas Conference of The United Methodist Church. Schnase is the author of Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations, a best-selling book on congregational ministry that has ignited a common interest among churches and their leaders around its themes of radical hospitality, passionate worship, intentional faith development, risk-taking mission and service, and extravagant generosity. Five Practices has reached a global community with translations in Korean, Spanish, Russian, Hungarian, and German. Robert is also the author of Just Say Yes!, Receiving God's Love, Remember the Future, Five Practices of Fruitful Living, and others.