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Natural Church Development

From EverybodyWiki Bios & Wiki



Natural Church Development
The NCD logo
AbbreviationNCD
ClassificationSupport for personal and corporate growth
TheologyInterdenominational, trinitarian
StructureInternational network
FounderChristian A. Schwarz
RegionWorldwide
Churches involved70,000
Official websitencd-international.org

Natural Church Development (NCD) is a principle-oriented way of approaching the Christian life that strives to integrate biblical standards and empirical learnings.[1] NCD research has been conducted in more than 70,000 churches, covering 84 countries and 112 denominations. The research has been published in 40 languages. In 65 countries, there are NCD Partners who support the diagnostic and remedial process.[2] NCD research claims that investment in quality is key to activating quantitative growth.[3]

History[edit]

While the publication of the book, Natural Church Development in 1996, is generally considered the launch of Natural Church Development, the research presented in that book and the theory developed through observing church life and evaluating the insights in terms of biblical criteria, has a longer history.

First model-oriented attempts (1978-1986)[edit]

In the late 1970s, Fritz Schwarz, a Lutheran superintendent of the church district of Herne (Germany), developed a missional program targeted at (a) helping nominal church members experience a spiritual transformation, (b) forming communities of committed believers within the context of the Lutheran church, and (c) empowering them to share what they have received by outreach to their neighborhood.[4] This program, which had been inspired by the writings of the German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, emphasized integrating the dimensions of evangelism and social service, indicated by activities focused on ministry to the marginalized and the Third World.

Two books in this early phase that were authored by Fritz and Christian A. Schwarz, dealt exclusively with the societal and political impact of discipleship and church life. The first one, Programm des neuen Lebensstils (Program of a New Life Style), published in 1981,[5] targeted topics such as ecology, global social justice, ministry to the poor, and a simple personal life style, while the second one, Die Friedenslüge (The Lie of Peace), published in 1982,[6] addressed topics like armament, non-violent resistance, and peace.

Even if the authors rejected the label "model" for their approach,[7] their program functioned as a model for many congregations throughout Germany, primarily in the context of the Lutheran church. In 1984, Fritz and Christian A. Schwarz co-authored their Theologie des Gemeindeaufbaus (Theology of Church Development),[8] which presented the theological paradigm behind the practical work.

Initial research and assessment tools (1987-1995)[edit]

In 1986, Christian A. Schwarz spent a sabbatical in the U.S.A., and studied church growth at Fuller Theological Seminary. In the years to follow, Schwarz developed a relationship with Donald McGavran[9] in which they explored the elements that were potentially missing in the predominant church growth paradigm of the day.[10] From a critical evaluation of the church growth literature that was available at that time, together with the paradigm that had been developed in Germany, he came up with a first provisional list of about 300 items that may characterize growing churches. He developed a survey for churches in German-speaking Europe to find out which of these items had a correlation with numerical growth, and which did not. This resulted in the development of a new survey that was tested in 120 churches in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The results were published in the book, Praxis des Gemeindeaufbaus (Practice of Church Development).[11] At that time, the hypothesis was that there are seven essential qualities of healthy churches.

After further evaluation of churches that worked with the original assessment tool, a new generation of that tool was made available in 1991. The book Der Gemeindetest (The Church Test)[12] which described the overall approach, featured for the first time what was later called the six growth forces, which originated from empirical discoveries and evaluating them both with respect to the Bible and ecological research, especially that by the German biochemist Frederic Vester.[13]

In 1989, Christian A. Schwarz founded the Institute for Church Development, which was later renamed Institute for Natural Church Development. In 1994, the organizational psychologist Christoph Schalk joined the institute’s team. Under his supervision, 1000 churches in 32 countries were researched according to a revised methodology, applying stricter standards of objectivity, validity, and reliability.[14]

File:NCD Books.jpg
Natural Church Development books have been published in many different languages

Launch of Natural Church Development (1996)[edit]

In October 1996, the first edition of the book Natural Church Development[3] was published simultaneously in ten different language editions (British English, Croatian, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, U.S. English).[15] This was the first time that the term "Natural Church Development" was used.

NCD 1.0 (1997-2001)[edit]

The first generation of tools (NCD 1.0), focused on the church as a whole. Various resources were developed to support this diagnostic and remedial process.[3][16][17]

NCD 2.0 (2002-2014)[edit]

In the second generation (NCD 2.0) the research was expanded to identify principles relating to personal growth.[18][19] This challenge gave rise to the development of the Trinitarian Compass, a theological paradigm that formed the foundation of all succeeding NCD tools, demonstrating how developing spiritual health relates to people’s heads, hands, and hearts.[20]

NCD 3.0 (starting 2015)[edit]

The latest phase in the NCD research has aimed at making personal diagnostic tools available to individuals via web-based platforms, regardless of whether or not they have a leadership position in a church.[21] This focus on immediate implementation has been tied to the discovery of the New Testament concept of divine energies.[22]

At its 20-year anniversary in July 2016, NCD International decided to give the "C" in NCD a threefold meaning: it stands for "character" and "community" as well as for "church".[23]

Research[edit]

A chief characteristic of the NCD paradigm is that all diagnostic tools are developed on the background of international research that is conducted according to conventional statistical standards of objectivity, validity, and reliability.[24] By 2016, NCD International had collected data from more than 70,000 churches in 84 countries, which enabled previously inaccessible insights into the relationship between quality and quantitative growth.[25]

Philosophy[edit]

The philosophy of Natural Church Development, as outlined in the major NCD books is characterized by the following features:

Principle-orientation[edit]

NCD states a commitment to not feature any specific church model, but to communicate the principles that can be detected behind any successful model.[26]

Interdenominational application[edit]

In the latest generation of tools that have been published in various denominational applications,[27] reference is made to how the application of NCD principles has helped various denominations or movements to revitalize their own best traditions, thus becoming more effective within their given contexts.

Intercultural learning[edit]

Aspects of the NCD paradigm have been taken from different cultures with the specific strengths of the West, the East, and the South having influenced NCD strategy.[28] In particular, NCD seeks to integrate insights of the Eastern Orthodox and the Western Church traditions, making the learnings of the East accessible to the West and vice versa.[29]

Quality focus[edit]

NCD suggests that the practice of making numerical growth a strategic goal is insufficient. Rather, it sets out to increase quality of life in a way that can be measured and monitored, with NCD research indicating that numerical growth follows "all by itself".[30]

Spiritual balance[edit]

A consistent feature of NCD teaching is a focus on "radical balance" that is seen as an essential element of spiritual maturity.[31]

Process-orientation[edit]

Following the paradigm of "natural" development, NCD emphasizes ongoing processes of development. This is assisted by test and retest procedures related to each of the key principles at an individual and corporate level.[32]

Strategy[edit]

The following are the interrelated building blocks of NCD strategy:

Eight quality characteristics[edit]

The eight quality characteristics summarize the net findings of the NCD research:

  • Empowering leadership
  • Gift-based ministry
  • Passionate spirituality
  • Effective structures
  • Inspiring worship service
  • Holistic small groups
  • Need-oriented evangelism
  • Loving relationships

While the way in which churches in different cultures or denominations put these principles into practice may differ considerably, NCD claims that the underlying principles are the same worldwide.[33]

Bi-polar paradigm[edit]

Natural Church Development is based on a bi-polar paradigm, striving to integrate poles that are often seen as contradictions, particularly in cultures that are shaped by thinking in terms of binary opposition.[34] The core of this paradigm draws upon the biblical representations of church in a unique combination of static (technical) and dynamic (organic) images, such as, "living stones", "growth of the temple", "the body of Christ may be built up", "God’s field and God’s building", etc.,[35] and has later been deepened by studies of polar structures in other fields, particularly in the theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer,[36] the writings of Niels Bohr,[37] and in various schools of Asian philosophy.

Six growth forces[edit]

Behind each of the eight quality characteristics are six growth forces[38] that can be observed through the study of creation, especially through biological and ecological research: interdependence, multiplication, energy transformation, sustainability, symbiosis, fruitfulness.

The image of the minimum barrel inspired by Justus von Liebig: The barrel can only hold as much water, as the least developed stave permits.

All of the growth forces describe different ways of releasing what NCD calls the "all by itself principle".[22] In the NCD tools, this is described as the strategic core of Natural Church Development.

Minimum factor[edit]

In NCD, the minimum factor strategy (i.e. the focus on the area that is, in a given situation, least developed) has a narrowly defined area of applicability: It exclusively relates to factors that are of vital importance. This approach has been learned from the German biologist and chemist, Justus von Liebig. Since this criterion applies to the eight quality characteristics of growing churches, the minimum factor strategy plays an important role in NCD. The NCD Church Survey is chiefly targeted at helping churches relate their energies to their present minimum factor (see illustration of the minimum barrel).[39] Whenever it comes to factors that may be helpful, but that are non-essential, NCD tends to teach a maximum factor approach.[40]

Graphic representations of the Trinitarian Compass are available in different variations, depending on the topic at stake. This picture shows the application to spirituality, where it distinguishes nine different spiritual styles.

Trinitarian Compass[edit]

The discipleship diagnostic tools of NCD are based on the Trinitarian Compass, which is a unique feature of the NCD paradigm.[19] It uses the dynamics of the colors of light (RGB color model) as a way of illustrating the practical relevance of the Christian doctrine of the Trinity for the daily challenges of believers: In order to produce pure white light, the colors red, green, and blue must be displayed simultaneously. The color green is related to God’s revelation in creation; the color red, to God’s revelation in Jesus Christ; and the color blue, to God’s revelation in the Holy Spirit. Each of these three revelations corresponds to basic dimensions of life.

A graphical representation of the NCD Cycle, the chief paradigm for all implementation processes.

NCD Cycle[edit]

In all areas of practical implementation, NCD refers to various versions of the NCD Cycle (see picture).[41] The Cycle describes a 6-phase-process that is characterized by the following features:

  • The process can be started in any given phase of the Cycle, since there is no statically defined beginning or end.
  • Every phase of the Cycle describes universally valid biblical principles rather than just programmatic ideas or tools.
  • It is essential not to skip any phase of the Cycle.
  • For different areas of implementation there are different versions of the Cycle.
  • The Cycle is based on the Trinitarian Compass, i.e. concepts such as radical balance, opposite pole, and the assignment of the six growth phases to the colors of the Compass are essential elements of the Cycle.
  • It is a spiral rather than a linear sequence, i.e. within each cycle the users moves through all of the phases, before going up a layer and repeating the process.
File:Divine Energies.jpg
While the concept of energies is taught throughout the New Testament, the Greek noun enérgeia has almost never been translated as energy, and the verb energeo, never as energize.

Divine energies[edit]

One of the latest discoveries that is increasingly shaping the NCD paradigm is the New Testament concept of energies (Greek, enérgeia).[42] Because of translations that strove to avoid the rendering of enérgeia as "energy", the NCD authors claim that in the past the concept never had a chance to influence Western Christianity, while in Eastern traditions it is generally known, but primarily limited to the liturgical and sacramental contexts.

Theology[edit]

NCD doesn’t position itself as a non-theological methodology nor as a merely pragmatic approach.[43] In NCD resource development, the empirical discoveries are evaluated theologically, i.e. in the light of biblical teaching. In this evaluation process, the empirical discoveries are approached heuristically; the biblical standards, as normative.

It is characteristic of the NCD paradigm that the theological reflection is worked out in inter-denominational categories, deliberately not binding itself to the specific traditions or values of a given denomination. Because of that principle, the NCD paradigm strives to exclude those topics where the different branches of Christianity are in disagreement, as long as these elements are non-essentials in terms of church development. Alternatively, it is demonstrated how the different foci, if combined, can potentially contribute to healthy balance.[44]

Leadership[edit]

NCD International functions as a network that is connected to individual leaders and organizations that are committed to support Christians in their area of responsibility. The ministry is directed by Christian A. Schwarz, Christoph Schalk, and Adam Johnstone.[45] This leadership team is supported by an informal advisory board with representatives of different cultures and denominations. The three major areas of operations of NCD International are research, resource development, and training/consulting.

Results[edit]

On the basis of their data base of some 70,000 churches worldwide and the possibility of monitoring the development in churches throughout the last 20 years, NCD International has repeatedly evaluated and published the results of the NCD ministry in empirical terms.

Qualitative increase[edit]

All churches that have conducted three or more NCD Church Surveys were evaluated in terms of progress. The scores at the time of the first survey were compared with the scores at the time of the third survey. The increase between these three profiles was reported to be 6 points on average (based on a standard deviation of 15 points). At the same time, the workload of the participating members decreased significantly.[46]

Quantitative increase[edit]

Comparing the growth patterns of the same churches at the time of their first and their third surveys revealed that the growth rate within that time window increased by 51% on average. At the same time, the percentage of transfer growth (people joining from other churches) decreased while the percentage of conversion growth increased.[46]

Growing mission-mindedness[edit]

In his 2013 dissertation Mission-shaped Church Development, Henrik Andersen conducted both quantitative and qualitative research to evaluate the impact that an NCD process may or may not have on the mission-mindedness of churches (in terms of actual changed behaviors). For that purpose, Andersen extracted from the missional literature five central indicators of mission-shaped churches and identified items in the NCD Church Survey that correspond to these features. He then selected churches that have conducted three NCD Surveys and researched how they developed between survey 1 and survey 3 in each of the five areas indicating the degree of their missionality. Since in all five categories the missionality of the churches increased throughout the NCD process, Andersen summarized the net findings of his quantitative research in the statement: "When a church implements a Natural Church Development approach, then mission‐shaped development happens all by itself."[47]

As a second step he did qualitative research in the form of personal interviews with each of the pastors of the churches participating in the study. For instance, he asked them what their reactions would be if an active church member decided to reduce their church involvement to become engaged in a non-Christian community program. His paraphrasing of their responses was, "Good on them, because they would be out there, and hopefully they would be able to put some Christian influence there."[48] Andersen concluded that this kind of response was typical for churches involved with Natural Church Development and had experienced an increase in quality.

Denominational reform processes[edit]

When NCD has been applied in a whole denomination (such as diocese, church district, network, etc.) and the denominational leaders have supported the attempts of their local churches, the leaders frequently report—apart from numerical growth—about a change of the climate within the denomination.[49] On the NCD web site, there is a video section in which denominational leaders from twelve different backgrounds talk about the changes that they have seen in their area of responsibility.[50] One of the dioceses that has been a pioneer in the church-wide application of Natural Church Development has been the Anglican Diocese of Coventry under the leadership of Bishop Christopher Cocksworth.[51][52]

Critical Debate[edit]

The NCD paradigm has brought about a considerable amount of critical debate.

Biblicist/fundamentalist objections[edit]

Some groups have raised concerns about the biblical foundation of NCD. In essence, they criticize the prevalence of empirical data gathering, rather than starting from a paradigm derived from biblical exegesis. These critics see the danger that the descriptive may be confused with the prescriptive. Prime examples of this stream of criticism are the articles of Elmer John Thiessen[53] and Brian Strider.[54] Similar concerns have been raised in a German article by Wilfried Plock.[55]

Church growth movement[edit]

Critical responses to Natural Church Development were expressed by representatives of the American Church Growth movement. Early objections were based on the fact that, at the time of publishing Natural Church Development, the research report[56] that provides information about the statistical methodology applied in the research, had not been available in an English translation. It was criticized that the empirical methods could not be verified. An example of this stream of criticism is a book review of Natural Church Development in the Journal of the American Society for Church Growth.[57]

Further criticism came from Charles van Engen who wrote that NCD’s "biotic approach is based on an Enlightenment paradigm that essentially assumes God created the world, placed in motion the so-called laws of nature, and then let those laws operate on their own." Also, "the recognition of the essential role of the Holy Spirit in the growth of the church seems to be a weak link in the theoretical framework of Schwarz’s Natural Church Development."[58]

In response to this criticism, Howard Snyder wrote, "Van Engen’s criticism of Christian Schwarz’s Natural Church Development misses the mark. Van Engen claims that Schwarz’s 'biotic' model 'is based on an Enlightenment paradigm' and is 'relatively deistic' because it assumes 'laws of nature' that operate more or less autonomously and does not make sufficient room for the ongoing work of the Spirit. This is a misreading of Schwarz’ and a misunderstanding of what Schwarz means by the 'all by itself' principle. Though Schwarz does use (perhaps unfortunately) the term 'laws of life,' his focus is on the dynamic, organic nature of life, not on mechanistic laws. In this sense, Natural Church Development is actually a critique of Enlightenment thinking. … To use organic or 'biotic' models may be premodern or postmodern, but it certainly is not modern in the Enlightenment sense. Nor does Schwarz slight the work of the Holy Spirit. 'The central concern of Natural Church Development,' he writes, 'is to do as much as possible to enable God’s Spirit to work unhindered in our churches, so that he can grow the church.' I see nothing unbiblical or 'Enlightenment' or theologically suspect in recognizing that the Spirit works through dynamics built into the divinely created world and that we should cooperate with these dynamics. … Schwarz’s main point is a valid and biblical one: The church is a living organism that functions consistently with principles and dynamics God has built into it. We ignore these to our peril."[59]

Emerging church[edit]

A more recent stream of criticism can be identified in literature of authors that represent the missional or Emerging Church. The major criticism is that NCD’s focus on church quality leads to navel gazing and withdrawal from evangelism. A prime example of this criticism is Charles van Engen, who suspects that the qualitative approach of NCD may move "the church toward introversion and irrelevance, which can increase the illness of the church rather than its health.”[60]

See also[edit]

NCD International
Christian A. Schwarz

References[edit]

  1. ↑ http://www.ncd-international.org/public/what-is-ncd.html. Short introduction to Natural Church Development on the NCD International website.
  2. ↑ "NCD Worldwide".
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Christian A. Schwarz, Natural Church Development: A Guide to Eight Essential Qualities of Healthy Churches (originally published in 1996, 7th updated and revised edition 2006). ChurchSmart, St. Charles. ISBN 978-1889638003
  4. ↑ Fritz Schwarz, Christian A. Schwarz, Rainer Sudbrack, Überschaubare Gemeinde, 3 volumes (1979-1981). Aussaat: Gladbeck. ISBN 978-3795808426, 978-3795808433, 978-3795808587
  5. ↑ Fritz Schwarz, Christian A. Schwarz, Programm des neuen Lebensstils: Für Leute, denen Jesus konkurrenzlos wichtig ist (1981). Aussaat: Gladbeck. ISBN 978-3795808433
  6. ↑ Fritz Schwarz, Christian A. Schwarz, Die Friedenslüge: Plädoyer für Wahrhaftigkeit (1982). Aussaat: Neukirchen-Vluyn. ISBN 978-3795808587
  7. ↑ Fritz Schwarz, Überschaubare Gemeinde: Ein persönliches Wort an Leute in der Kirche über missionarischen Gemeindeaufbau (1979). Aussaat: Gladbeck. ISBN 978-3795808426
  8. ↑ Fritz Schwarz, Christian A. Schwarz: Theologie des Gemeindeaufbaus – Ein Versuch (second edition 1985). Aussaat: Neukirchen-Vluyn. ISBN 978-3761546635
  9. ↑ "About Christian A. Schwarz".
  10. ↑ Dan Simpson writes, "If church leaders embrace natural church development, they’ve adopted the heart of Donald McGavran’s church growth thinking." Dan Simpson, Natural Church Development, Ministry Advantage 7, no 4 (Fall 1997), page 12.
  11. ↑ Christian A. Schwarz, Praxis des Gemeindeaufbaus (1987). Aussaat: Neukirchen-Vluyn. ISBN 978-3795889333
  12. ↑ Christian A. Schwarz, Der Gemeindetest: Kybernetisch Gemeinde bauen (1991). Mainz-Kastel: C&P Verlag. ISBN 978-3928093071
  13. ↑ Frederic Vester, Neuland des Denkens: Vom technokratischen zum kybernetischen Zeitalter (1980). Stuttgart: dtv. ISBN 978-3423330015
  14. ↑ Christian A. Schwarz, Christoph Schalk, Implementation Guide to Natural Church Development (1998), pages 229-234, St. Charles: ChurchSmart. ISBN 978-1889638034
  15. ↑ http://www.ncd-international.org/public/Books/Natural-Church-Development.html. Meanwhile, the book has been published in many more languages, including Albanian, Arabic, Chinese, Czech, Estonian, Finnish, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Swedish, Tamil, Thai, Ukrainian.
  16. ↑ Christian A. Schwarz, Christoph Schalk, Implementation Guide to Natural Church Development (1998), St. Charles: ChurchSmart. ISBN 978-1889638034
  17. ↑ "Welcome - NCD Church Survey".
  18. ↑ Christian A. Schwarz, Color Your World with Natural Church Development: Experiencing all that God has designed you to be (2005). St. Charles: ChurchSmart. ISBN 978-1889638478
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 http://www.ncd-international.org/public/ncd-tools.html. Presently, there have been four five books published in this series: The 3 Colors of Ministry, The 3 Colors of Love, The 3 Colors of Your Spirituality, The 3 Colors of Community, and The 3 Colors of Leadership.
  20. ↑ First introduced in Christian A. Schwarz, The Threefold Art of Experiencing God: The Liberating Power of a Trinitarian Faith (1999). St. Charles: ChurchSmart. ISBN 978-1889638140
  21. ↑ "eTests Overview - NCD 3 Color World".
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Christian A. Schwarz, The All By Itself Pathway: An Introduction to Natural Church Development (2015). St. Charles: ChurchSmart. ISBN 978-1936812110
  23. ↑ See Youtube video
  24. ↑ Christian A. Schwarz, Christoph Schalk, Implementation Guide to Natural Church Development (1998), pages 229-234. St. Charles: ChurchSmart. ISBN 978-1889638034
  25. ↑ In his research report, Christoph Schalk illustrates with reference to a small number of churches which research methods had been applied in the development of the NCD Church Survey: http://ncdnet.blogs.com/files/report1.pdf
  26. ↑ Christian A. Schwarz, Color Your World with Natural Church Development: Experiencing all that God has designed you to be (2005), pages 132-143. St. Charles: ChurchSmart. ISBN 978-1889638478
  27. ↑ The All By Itself Pathway is available in various denominational versions, for instance, The All By Itself Anglican, The All By Itself Adventist, The All By Itself Salvationist. http://www.ncd-international.org/public/Books/Pathway.html
  28. ↑ Christian A. Schwarz, Color Your World with Natural Church Development, pages 28-32. St. Charles: ChurchSmart. ISBN 978-1889638478
  29. ↑ Christian A. Schwarz, The 3 Colors of Community: How the 7 Communal Qualities of Healthy Small Groups can help you overcome the 7 Deadly Sins (2012), pages 23-26. St. Charles: ChurchSmart. ISBN 978-1889638980
  30. ↑ Christian A. Schwarz, Color Your World with Natural Church Development, pages 25-27. St. Charles: ChurchSmart. ISBN 978-1889638478
  31. ↑ Christian A. Schwarz, Color Your World with Natural Church Development, pages 56-57, 168-181. St. Charles: ChurchSmart. ISBN 978-1889638478
  32. ↑ Christian A. Schwarz, Natural Church Development (7th updated and revised edition 2006), pages 108-125. ChurchSmart, St. Charles. ISBN 978-1889638003
  33. ↑ Christian A. Schwarz, Natural Church Development (7th updated and revised edition 2006), pages pages 18-50. ChurchSmart, St. Charles. ISBN 978-1889638003
  34. ↑ This approach has been first introduced in the book Paradigm Shift in the Church, Christian A. Schwarz, Paradigm Shift in the Church: How Natural Church Development can transform theological thinking (1999). St. Charles: ChurchSmart. ISBN 978-1889638058 by relating it to various aspects of ecclesiology and illustrating it with reference to the major conflicts throughout church history.
  35. ↑ Christian A. Schwarz, Natural Church Development (7th updated and revised edition 2006), pages pages 88-89. ChurchSmart, St. Charles. ISBN 978-1889638003
  36. ↑ Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Act and Being: Transcendental Philosophy and Ontology in Systematic Theology (2nd edition 2009). Fortress Press: Minneapolis, ISBN 978-0800696535
  37. ↑ Ernst Peter Fischer, Sowohl als auch: Denkerfahrungen der Naturwissenschaften (1987). Hamburg: Rasch und Röhring. ISBN 978-3891361184
  38. ↑ Christoph Schalk, The Silent Transformation: How Churches have experienced the Power of the NCD Growth Forces (2006). St. Charles: ChurchSmart. ISBN 978-1889638577
  39. ↑ Christian A. Schwarz, Natural Church Development (7th updated and revised edition 2006), pages 51-64. ChurchSmart, St. Charles. ISBN 978-1889638003
  40. ↑ Christian A. Schwarz, The 3 Colors of Leadership: How anyone can learn the art of empowering other people (2012), pages 67-68. St. Charles: ChurchSmart. ISBN 978-1889638973
  41. ↑ Christian A. Schwarz, Natural Church Development (7th updated and revised edition 2006), pages 107-125. ChurchSmart, St. Charles. ISBN 978-1889638003
  42. ↑ Reflected in the books, The All By Itself Pathway, The 3 Colors of Community, and the latest edition of, The 3 Colors of Ministry.
  43. ↑ The book Natural Church Development presents six reasons why pragmatism is unsuitable to approach church development and criticizes pragmatism as a "dead end road". Christian A. Schwarz, Natural Church Development (7th updated and revised edition 2006), pages 104-106. ChurchSmart, St. Charles. ISBN 978-1889638003
  44. ↑ Christian A. Schwarz, Color Your World with Natural Church Development, pages 23-24. St. Charles: ChurchSmart. ISBN 978-1889638478
  45. ↑ "What is NCD".
  46. ↑ 46.0 46.1 Christian A. Schwarz, Color Your World with Natural Church Development: Experiencing all that God has designed you to be (2005), page 190, St. Charles: ChurchSmart. ISBN 978-1889638478
  47. ↑ Henrik Andersen, Mission-shaped Church Development—Does it happen all by itself? (2013), page 3. Springdale College.
  48. ↑ Henrik Andersen, Mission-shaped Church Development—Does it happen all by itself? (2013), page 56-57. Springdale College.
  49. ↑ Justin Lawman, Conference President NNSW Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church writes, "In our Conference, NCD has made more impact than any other program or initiative used in the last 20 years. Natural Church Development has also made a dramatic impact on my life. It has made me a better, more balanced Christian. … NCD has made me a better Christian through holding up a mirror. A mirror which shows the behaviors and therefore culture of my church that resulted partially from my leadership. … Every time we saw a church take the NCD process seriously they increased the health of their church and with it their growth." Preface to: The All By Itself Adventist (2015), pages 4-5. NCD Media, ISBN 978-3-928093-18-7
  50. ↑ http://www.ncd-tools.org/experiences
  51. ↑ Bishop Cocksworth writes, "We are seeing real signs of churches growing where before they had been gradually eroding. The figures across the UK suggest that the increase in the growth rate of churches using NCD is well above the international average of 51% after 31 months, and the increase in the growth rate of Anglican churches using NCD is even greater. ... Coventry Diocese has engaged seriously with NCD because its concentration on the health of the church makes good theological sense and because its findings are based on an unrivalled (and, as far as I am aware, unchallenged) amount of research into the church’s growth." Christopher Cocksworth in his preface to: The All By Itself Anglican (2015), pages 4-5. NCD Media. ISBN 9783928093118
  52. ↑ "Diocese of Coventry - Natural Church Development (NCD)".
  53. ↑ "Reflections on Christian Schwarz and Natural Church Development". 13 January 2011.
  54. ↑ "Book Review: Natural Church Development, by Christian Shwarz".
  55. ↑ http://kfg.org/material/artikel/, article "Die natürliche Gemeindeentwicklung nach Christian A. Schwarz".
  56. ↑ In his research report, Christoph Schalk illustrates with reference to a small number of churches which research methods have been applied in the development of the NCD Church Survey: http://ncdnet.blogs.com/files/report1.pdf
  57. ↑ Natural Church Development – Reviewed by John Ellas and Flavil Yeakley, in: Journal of the American Society for Church Growth (Volume 10, Spring 1999), Corunna, IN.
  58. ↑ Charles van Engen, Centrist View, in: Gary L. McIntosh (Ed.), Evaluating the Church Growth Movement (2004), pages 135-144. Grand Rapids: Zondervan. ISBN 978-0310241102
  59. ↑ Howard Snyder, A Renewal Response, in: Gary L. McIntosh (Ed.), Evaluating the Church Growth Movement (2004), page 150. Grand Rapids: Zondervan. ISBN 978-0310241102
  60. ↑ Charles van Engen, A Centrist Response, in: Gary L. McIntosh (Ed.), Evaluating the Church Growth Movement (2004), page 235. Grand Rapids: Zondervan. ISBN 978-0310241102

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