Asserting that learning differs from the accumulation of information when it changes behavior, author Lyle Schaller identifies what we have learned in the local church and develops both critical questions and possible applications for these learnings. In working with thousands of congregations over a lifetime of research, Schaller addresses what has happened to churches and what responses churches may make to deal with their futures. Both professional and lay leadership receives considerable analysis, and Schaller makes many solid recommendations concerning leadership into the future. The changing realities of the world in which churches seek to do ministry are carefully analyzed and evaluated in terms of the local church. This resource would serve for background reading for pastors and lay leaders struggling with how to perform ministry into a changing and challenging future.