Pivot: The Priorities, Practices, and Powers That Can Transform Your Church into a Tov Culture

A practical guide to help you build a culture in your church or organization that resists abuse and cultivates goodness.

After the release of their groundbreaking book, A Church Called Tov, which recorded the stories of abuse and toxic church cultures at some of the most prominent churches in the United States, New Testament scholar and blogger for Christianity Today Scot McKnight and Laura Barringer heard from a flood of people who had experienced similar instances of abuse. After all they’ve seen and heard, they still believe it’s possible for church cultures to be transformed from toxic to tov―from oppressive to good.

In Pivot, Scot and Laura help churches to implement practices,establish priorities, and cultivate the Kingdom Gospel-centered qualities that form goodness cultures. Readers will find answers to the four most common questions people have about culture transformation:

1. How can I transform the culture in my church or organization to make it tov?
2. I believe my workplace has unhealthy values. How do I initiate change?
3. How do I unleash a culture of goodness in my ministry?
4. I’m not in a position of church leadership. What are some red flags that indicate a toxic culture, and what can I do if I see them?

Pivot also includes the following practical features:

• The “Tov tool,” a survey to help you discern your organization’s culture and to promote spiritual conversations
• A “getting to work” section at the end of each chapter with questions and next steps for application

Transformation is never easy. But for the sake of the next generation, we must do it.

Scot McKnight is professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary and a recognized authority on the New Testament, early Christianity, and the historical Jesus. He is the author of more than ninety books, including A Church Called Tov, The Jesus Creed, and The Blue Parakeet. He and his wife, Kristen, live in the northwest suburbs of Chicago.

Laura Barringer is a teacher and the coauthor of A Church Called Tov. She is also a children's ministry curriculum writer for Grow Kids and coauthored the children's version of The Jesus Creed. A graduate of Wheaton College, Laura resides in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with her husband, Mark, and three beagles.