Rebuilt

Rebuilt: The Story of a Catholic Parish by Michael White and Tom Corcoran, 280 pages

 

In the late nineties, Father Michael White and pastoral associate Tom Corcoran were assigned to the Church of the Nativity, a Catholic parish in suburban Maryland.  The parish, like many parishes across the country, was moribund, in no immediate danger of closure, but in the midst of a long slow decline.  Although neither of them were initially excited about this assignment, over the course of fifteen years they transformed the parish into a dynamic, thriving church.

 

As the authors sought to make this transformation, they turned to modern management and marketing techniques, and used Evangelicalism as a model, making this a Catholic-flavored version of books like Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Church.  This raises the question of whether the megachurch model is the right one to imitate, especially for a Catholic parish.  The authors avoid this problem with a results-oriented approach which, unfortunately, comes perilously close at times to consequentialism.  Still, the authors come across as personable and humble - this is not a specific blueprint, but a sharing of experiences and, yes, mistakes.

 

Although not the definitive book on the subject (and not intended to be), Rebuilt is valuable if for no other reason than that nothing else quite like it exists.  If it doesn't have all the right answers, perhaps it will inspire its readers to start asking the right questions.