Dr. Melvin’s two books, Can the Pastor Do It Alone? and Lay Driven Church, have something in common with two pictures that hang close together in our home. Each picture is complete in itself. When viewed together, however, a synergistic principle is at work—their combined beauty is greater than the loveliness of either picture alone.
The same is true of these two books. Each presents a complete message. Each stands on its own and is not dependent upon the other. When you read both, however, you activate a synergistic energy that creates a value greater than the sum of their individual messages. In brief, you do not need both books, but much can be gained by having both.
For example, Can the Pastor Do It Alone? describes the Lay Pastors Ministry and explains the steps required to begin it. But there is an important assumption behind those steps: the pastor and congregation are ready for the ministry. What if they are not?
The second book provides the theology and methodology needed to prepare both the people and the church—not only to begin the ministry, but also to sustain it over time. The synergistic value of the two books is that they provide what is needed to implement a lay pastoral care ministry that is both effective and enduring: the plan, the people, and a church culture that is favorable to the ministry.
Moreover, the principles that make a lay pastoral care ministry effective can be applied to other forms of lay ministry as well. Thus, the two books together offer more than two separate messages. They provide a pathway from vision to implementation, from preparation to practice, and from starting a ministry to sustaining it.