An expert practitioner answers to questions about the burgeoning organic church movement Neil Cole's best-selling book Organic Church described the fastest growing segment of contemporary Christianity-the so-called organic church.

About Leadership Network ix Foreword xi Preface xiii Acknowledgments xvii Introduction What About This Book? Shifting from Church 2.0 to 3.0 1 Part One Global Changes Demand a Better Church 13 1 What About the World We Live In? From a Village Church to a Global Village 15 2 What About Our Changing Culture? From Ministry in a Modern World to Postmodern 23 Part Two Structural Issues 43 3 What About the Church's Mission? From Coming to Going 45 4 What About Church Growth? From Incremental to Exponential 66 5 What About Church Models? Part One: From Congregations to Networks 92 6 What About Church Models? Part Two: From Centralized to Decentralized 116 7 What About Larger Gatherings? From One-Size-Fits-All to Tailored Groups for Effective Function 137 Part Three Pragmatic Concerns 163 8 What About Evangelism? From Drawing Converts to Catalyzing Movements 165 9 What About Baptism and Communion? From Sacerdotal Rituals to Apostolic Genius 189 10 What About Kids? From a Scholastic Model to a Spiritual Family 209 11 What About Heresy? From Better-Trained Pastors to Better-Trained People 222 12 What About Finances? From Ten Percent to the Whole Enchilada 241 Conclusion What About My Church? From Being Educated to Being Empowered 253 Notes 257 The Author 265 Index 267

When Neil Cole’s best-selling book Organic Church was first published, it described one of the fastest growing and most innovative segments of contemporary Christianity. In Church 3.0, Cole makes the argument that Christianity needs more than new programs, buildings, or worship formats. It needs a complete upgrade to a new operating system. The early church shifted to a more institutional form in 300 AD and has been stuck in the 2.0 operating system ever since. We are overdue for the next upgrade. Church 3.0 discusses issues such as how to deal with heresy, how to handle finances, what to do with children, and what to do with worship, rituals, and ordinances. Even the most enthusiastic proponents and practitioners of organic churches often wonder how to handle such matters in a faithful way. Organic churches demand a shift from a program-driven and clergy-led institutionalized approach to one that is relational, simple, intimate, and viral in the way it spreads. Instead of seeing church as something that serves its people, church becomes people who serve God, one another, and a hurting world. Church is no longer an event to be at, but a family to be part of. Church is not a program to reach out to the world, but a people that bring God with them to the world. Based on Cole’s extensive experience in starting, nurturing, and mentoring thousands of churches, Church 3.0 offers insight and information about how to make this shift to a more organic form of church. Church 3.0 is an insider’s look at the important considerations necessary to release spontaneous church multiplication movements in a Western context.