Autopsy of a Deceased Church: 12 Ways to Keep Yours Alive by Thom Rainer begins by talking about a patient that died, and the autopsy that took place afterward. Rainer shares that this death was actually a church and describes the life of the church before its death. He was called to work with the church as a consultant and shared some of his observations as to what took place that caused the church to die.
The book is short, only 102 pages, but full of stories and thoughts that every church should be considering. Each chapter discussed an area that led to the decline and eventual death of the church, with questions that the reader or a small group could answer and discuss together. The chapters mention areas that the church began to neglect, refused to address, or forgot that they should be doing, which ultimately led to their death.
If your church is asking if they’re stuck and uncertain of what the outcome would be if things do not change, Autopsy of a Deceased Church would be a good book for the leaders and members to read.
