A few more books I've read have provided some good insight. One deals with insights provided by interviewing formerly unchurched people and the factors they say lead to their inclusion in the church community. There were some fascinating insights there. What i appreciated is that this author, unlike most who write on these topics, did not attempt to boil everyhting down to one formula or "fail-proof" plan. He acknowledged that each instance was unique as all people are unique, and that the factors that lead to a person's choosing to become a part of a community of faith and many and varied. It is always a complex of factors that go into each instnace. But then he does distill out some principles that are helpful.
Another book was on the topic of leading people in spiritual discussions. It as a littel more formulaic but helpful none the less. Now I'm finishing up a thelogoy text on the Israel of God in the Old and New Testaments. It is pretty good, but a little slower reading than the other two i mentioned. After that i'm on to a book tht discusses the various traditions of the Christian faith in history.
