Good ministries fail. Churches, megachurches, parachurch organizations, and whole denominations can find themselves in crisis or decline even though they are doctrinally sound, spiritually energetic, and divinely commissioned. Or sometimes they plateau. Like the airliner that loses its engines at 35,000 feet, the passengers may be unaware that anything is wrong. But the pilot knows. Something needs to be done very soon, or the flight will come to an unscheduled and unpleasant conclusion.Leaders need to do more than just steer the ship. Though the waters may seem smooth, they need to see the iceberg ahead shrouded in fog. When they do, they need to reverse their engines and rescue their people from calamity. Whether you are a pastor of a local church, a mission's executive, a denominational leader, or a lay leader on a church or parachurch board, this book was written for you. It does not give you an easy three-step solution to your ministry's crisis or decline. Instead, it will equip you with the tools you need to assess your organization's health and determine the appropriate steps needed to bring renewal and revival. Here's what people are saying about Turnaround: Biblical. Relevant. Helpful. Dr. Dwight Perry has given leaders everywhere a resource that delivers. Forged from personal experience and filled with true stories, this book provides a roadmap for turning around a ministry in trouble. A valuable resource in any leader's library.Greg ThorntonSr. Vice President, MediaMoody Bible InstituteDr. Dwight Perry answers an often asked question: Is the capacity to be a turnaround leader innate, or can it be taught? Dr. Perry is not only a turnaround leader himself - he is mentor and teacher for those who are willing to learn. ... He builds his leadership model on the firm foundation of biblical conviction and godly character, and then provides a floor to ceiling structure of wise and practical insights. Clear, concise and reproducible, his book covers the expansive terrain of leading organizational change.Dr. Jerry ShevelandPresident and CEOConverge WorldwideWith 70-85% of churches in America that have either plateaued or are in decline, Dr. Dwight Perry in his book, Turnaround ... has a way of addressing the decline from an organizational leadership perspective. Dr Perry has a unique way of marrying good biblical exegesis with a profound practical understanding and practical applications. ... A great book to the body of Christ.Pastor Michael L. HendersonNew Beginnings Community ChurchCharlotte, North Carolina Dr. Dwight Perry has a passion for making ministries work. Richly illustrated by his own experience, Turnaround, is filled with practical, biblically-rooted, God-focused advice on taking your ministry from struggling to significant. You'll be challenged to assess honestly, face into weaknesses, build on strengths, and work under the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to turn your ministry around. Because Dr. Perry has done it, you know that you are getting not only good theory; you are getting leadership lessons from the trenches.Jay BarnesPresidentBethel University
About the Author: Dr. Dwight Perry, District Executive Minister is known and appreciated for his straight-talk approach to ministry. He has served as a senior pastor, church planter, denominational executive and full time Professor of Pastoral Studies at the Moody Bible Institute. He oversees Converge Great Lakes (formerly known as Great Lakes Baptist Conference) with pastoral care and dynamic leadership. Prior to coming to the Converge Great Lakes, Dr. Perry served as a professor of pastoral studies at the Moody Bible Institute, as a denominational executive with the Baptist General Conference and as a senior pastor and associate pastor in several churches in Illinois. He is a sought-after national speaker and is passionate about proclaiming God's Word. As a pastor and teacher in homiletics, he is one of the premier expository preachers in the United States of America. He also is a ministry consultant to churches large and small both within and outside of his denomination. He is the first African American to graduate with an earned PhD from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, IL. He is also the author of Connect: Proclaiming the timeless truths of Christ in an ever-changing World. This book, written for the busy pastor and lay person who wants to more effectively communicate biblical truth whether it be from the pulpit on sunday morning or in a small group during the week is based on Dr. Perry's three plus decades of public speaking and his ten years as a full time professor in the area of homiletics (preaching) and leadership at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago Illinois. He is the author of Breaking Down Barriers: A Black Evangelical Explains of Converge Great Lakes is the Black Church and Building Unity in the Church in the New Millennium (Moody Press). The second focuses on discrimination in the evangelical church in the areas of race, class, gender, age and physical disabilities and is a landmark book in the area of practical theology. Dr. Perry and his wife Dr. Cynthia Perry have four adult children and four grandchildren. They live in Madison, Wisconsin.