“Brown, Penfold and Westra maintain that we can identify the best practices of turnaround pastors, and with the help of the Spirit of God, accurate assessment, immersion training, mentoring and cluster groups of like-minded individuals, we—non-turnaround-pastor types can become turnaround pastors. “

This is not just another book. We didn’t need another indictment of the American Church or American pastors. But in Pastor Unique,authors Lavern Brown, Gordon Penfold and Gary Westra have given us a roadmap for real change, and it is practical and doable—by the grace of God.

One clarification: Pastor Unique is about turnaround pastors in the sense of long-term (not transitional or interim) pastors, who seek to lead their stagnant congregations to great commission effectiveness.

The possibilities

It allows for the possibility of its readers becoming serialturnaround pastors—who stay five to 10 years until a turnaround is completed and then move on and do it again. But it is not written specifically for those amazing individuals.

Here’s the backstory: readers of Church Central have heard the statistics dozens of times: 80 percent of American Evangelical (not all churches or all Protestant churches) are plateaued or in decline. That’s a given.

The wonderful work of Aubrey Malphurs and Gordon Penfold (ReVISION: The Key To Transforming Your Church), demonstrated that those 80 percent churches need turnaround (or “revisioning”) pastors. Our hurting churches need the best leaders. 

Sadly, about 10 percent of evangelical pastors are capable of leading church turnarounds. About 20 percent are not turnaround pastors and have no interest in becoming turnaround pastors. They might be loving men, but they are “sheep petters,” not shepherd-leaders.

Fortunately, that leaves the 70 percent—who are not yet turnaround pastors. These are capable of becoming turnaround leaders and are interested in becoming what they need to become in order to do what God has called them to do.

This is where Pastor Unique comes in. Brown, Penfold and Westra maintain that we can identify the best practices of turnaround pastors, and with the help of the Spirit of God, accurate assessment, immersion training, mentoring and cluster groups of like-minded individuals, we—non-turnaround-pastor types can become turnaround pastors.

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