Utilizing the unique and considerable strengths of the small church, rather than trying to emulate/keep up with the big boys. . . .
Ron Klassen. Maximize!: Leveraging the Strengths of Your Small Church. 128p., $15.99, Deep River Books.
Blending rich small-church theology with corresponding practical outcomes, Maximize! convinces small-church pastors, elders, deacons, children’s and youth workers, worship leaders, and members that small size is not a liability but a trait begging to be utilized for maximum benefit to all. Readers will see that their-size church is well-suited for fulfilling God’s mission and in fact has advantages. Maximize! does not pit small against big; it is not about what size is best but about how to be the best at any given size.
Thirty years in the making, the lessons in Maximize! have been continually refined as author Ron Klassen has taught them in classes and dozens of seminars, counseled, encouraged, overseen, and mentored hundreds of pastors, and interacted with small-church attendees from every state in the US and most provinces of Canada. Too often, those in small churches are apologetic about their church’s size, too quick to see weaknesses and limitations, too prone to compare their church with bigger churches and come away feeling inferior. Too often, those in small churches try to emulate big churches but come up short.
Rather than trying to imitate large churches, small churches do well to study themselves and their communities, and then prayerfully design ministries uniquely suited for their size, place, and time.
Lay It Down 
Kerux: Jeremiah/Lamentations
Some light reading for y’all. . . . 🙂 . . .
Duane Garrett and Calvin F. Pearson. Jeremiah and Lamentations: A Commentary for Biblical Preaching and Teaching. Kerux Commentaries. 416p., $38.99, Kregel Academic.
Jeremiah and Lamentations approaches two historically related yet literarily distinct books of the Old Testament, carefully attending to their composition and application. Garrett and Pearson draw out the crucial themes and structures of Jeremiah: the hope of eschatological salvation nestled in the center of an expertly crafted exploration of human sin in all its blindness, perversity, and persistence. Lamentations wrestles with the unanswered questions of a community in exile, sobered by judgment and wondering whether God intends to abandon Israel entirely. Garrett and Pearson examine both Old Testament texts through the lens of Jesus, clarifying the parallels and fulfillments essential for Christian preaching.
Kerux Commentaries enable pastors and teachers to understand and effectively present the main message in a biblical text.
Each volume uniquely combines the insights of an experienced Bible exegete (trained in interpretation) and a homiletician (trained in preaching). These two authors work together to explain the essential message for the original listeners or readers, unpack its timeless truth, and then provide a contemporary restatement and communication insights for the key biblical concept. Every book is a resource designed and written with the real needs of the pastor and teacher always in sight, providing many ways to creatively express the principal thought in a biblical passage.