The Church Revitalizer Jan/Feb 2019

THE

CHURCH

Revitalizer A Revitalization Retreat in Every Issue

Jan/Feb 2019 Vol 6 Issue 1

“The only magazine dedicated to Church Revitalization.�

From The Editor Welcome to the Church Revitalizer Magazine: The Revitalization of the local church has never been more important than it is right now. We are beginning to see signs similar to that of the church planting movement of the late 90’s and early 2000’s where there was the watering down of the cause by those who wanted to attach their preconceived wagon in an attempt to parley such attachments into chance. The result was the growth of thousands of newly created church planting organizations watering down what was required to start a healthy church plant.

As we begin 2019 I am not seeking to be an alarmist but it has crossed my mind that the same thing that happened in church planting might be about to transpire in the field of church revitalization and renewal. Never has there been a greater need to keep the cause of church revitalization and renewal focused on saving declining and dying churches.

Church Revitalizer hear me, when we get humble enough, and low enough, and desperate enough, and hungry enough, and concerned enough, and passionate enough, and broken enough, and clean enough, and prayerful enough, then the Lord our God will send us a revival that equals, if not surpasses, the great awakening. There will be a sweeping movement of revitalized churches all across this land. I pray as we begin 2019 for an awakening within all of our souls so that heaven will give us an outpouring, earth-shaking revival in our revitalized churches with a renewed hell defying authority that shouts to the world in which we minister, “God is doing it again!” Give us oh Lord, a flaming challenge to revitalize our churches and begin to save our land.

Send the fire I pray!

Within this edition we want to look at the best Church Revitalization articles of 2018 in review. Stay connected, more is coming!

ChurchRevitalizer.Guru

Dr. Tom Cheyney is the Founder and Directional Leader of Renovate National Church Revitalization Conference and Executive Editor of the Church Revitalizer.

Contents

Characteristics of the Successful Church Revitalizer Tom Cheyney

p. 10

Don’t Become a Blockbuster Church Character Qualities of the Good Revitalizer Lee Kricher

p. 14

15 Reasons Why Pastors Can’t Lead Helping Children Build Strong Faith Foundations

Terry Rials

p. 16

Brian Thorstad

p. 22

Bill Hegedus

Ron Smith

p. 18

p. 28

Also in this issue: The Revitalization Leadership Challenge p. 30 Chris Irving

Always a Student p. 50 Jim Grant

What Lessons Can We Learn from the Giant Redwoods p. 52 Darwin Meighan

Planned Absense–The Sheep May Wander But They Will Grow Fonder–and You Can Avoid Burnout p. 60 4

Joel Breidenbaugh

Church Revitalization: It’s Every Pastor’s Calling

Jan/Feb | Vol 6, No 1

Gardening Model for Mentoring Young Leaders George Thomasson

p. 34

Milemarkers on the Road to Revitalization

Things I’ve Learned on the Way to Revitalization Bill Tenny-Brittian

Steve Smith

p. 38

p. 40

Breaking Up the Logjam Bud Brown

p. 44

7 Things I Wish I knew Before I Revitalized a Church Bob Whitesel

p. 46

THE LEADERSHIP LINK… Dream Big Michael Atherton

p. 58

Little Wins Grow Big Visions p. 62 Pete Tackett

Don’t Let Social Media Derail Revitalization p. 64 Rodney Harrison

De-Clutter Your Life p. 68 David Jackson

Lessons Learned from Church Revitalization and Renewal p. 74 Steve Sells

Teaching to Change Lives p. 76 Fred Boone

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THE

CHURCH

Revitalizer Volume 6, No. 1

The Church Revitalizer Is published bi-monthly by Renovate Publishing Group 1906 West Lee Road Orlando, FL 32810 Email: ChurchRevitalizer.guru

PUBLISHER Executive Editor Dr. Tom Cheyney Associate Publisher Mark Weible Associate Publisher Circulation & Marketing Ashleigh Cheyney

The Church Revitalizer Q&A: What is The Church Revitalizers purpose?

To help churches that need to be reinvigorated and renewed effectively receive help in issues that revitalizers face everyday. Articles, resources, and information are gathered from authors all over the country who have been through, or may currently be in, the revitalization process and we want to share their knowledge.

How can I write for The Church Revitalizer?

Contact us at Goba@goba.org How do I get help with subscription issues?

Go to churchrevitalizer.guru to renew, order a gift, or resolve any issues.

May I reprint articles?

Yes, if it’s for church education, for small group purposes, is less than 1,000 copies and is not offered for resale. Please contact us for more information.

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Brand Manager Tom Cheyney Magazine Designer & Format Editor Ashleigh Cheyney Director of Advertising Renovate Staff Web Ad Traffic Director Mark Weible For subscription information contact this office at: www.churchrevitalizer.guru/subscriptions.

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The Church Revitalizer’s

LIBRARY

RENOVATE Publishing Group

Your One Stop Shop for Church Revitalization and Renewal Resources!

Checkout our lineup of resources that will help you revitalize your church.

www.RenovateConference.org/bookstore

Characteristics of the Successful

Church Revitalizer

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I get asked everywhere I go, “what are the things that make a good church revitalizer?” I usually will discuss character qualities initially and then point them to key skill sets necessary as they develop into a successful revitalizer of churches. In this edition I want to look at characteristics of church revitalizers who have been successful and continue to be successful. Before I share my point of view, it should be declared initially that they need an active, effective, and consistent prayer life. Prayer is the starting point in any church revitalization effort. Church revitalizers are patient toilers who seek counsel, and who also understand the importance of timing in renewal. They are able to take extraordinary risks in order to achieve their objectives towards revitalization. These renewal leaders keep the staff lean and prefer to utilize volunteers over hired staff. They keep the church flexible and stable by practicing lean simple forms.

So here are the characteristics of a successful church revitalizer:

A church revitalizer is often identified by laity as a builder. They seek to make things better within the church they are seeking to turnaround. They believe deep down they can make a lasting difference. Church revitalizers have the ability to learn from other church revitalizers and seek to develop as much knowledge and Biblical training from experienced leaders in church revitalization so when they are deployed they will know how to lead a church that must rise from its deathbed vigil and get it growing spiritually and numerically once again! Their spiritual experience is living and fresh. They know they are chosen and sent.

While revitalization is difficult, they possess the right skill sets for turning a church around. A final word by way of introduction is that these church revitalizers understand how to evaluate their present context and plan for the future.

Church revitalizers need to be completely honest with themselves and with God about their sins and the sins of the people they lead. It takes a breaking of one’s self and a repentant soul to begin the process of renewal.

Church revitalizers must start with themselves before they can begin with their church members.

A Brokenness Before the Lord Church revitalizers possess a brokenness before the Lord over the situation of the church and toil daily to bless the church through hard work as a minister of the Gospel.

God’s Vision Only Church revitalizers seek God and get their vision from Him. In a day where most declining churches have borrowed vision from the latest self-help book, these revitalizers desire a freshness from the Lord.

Are Openly Transparent

They Are All In Church revitalizers are passionate people who are completely committed to their Lord, the church, and the revitalization process. They are all in and ready to go to work.

A Bias for Action Not Idleness Church revitalizers have a bias for action. They encourage creativity and are willing to risk failure. A church revitalizer understands the needs of their target commu-

nity and possesses a genuine interest in meeting the needs of people. Church revitalizers keep prospects close and seek to minister to them!

They Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing Church revitalizers deliver and express quality programs that provide a perceived value that participants are seeking. These renewing churches are contagious and stimulating. They generate energy rather than deplete it. Church revitalizers focus on what they do best and avoid launching programs that take away from the vision and spread the workers too thin. They make very informed decisions and stick with them.

Seek New Paths, Places, and People Church revitalizers have a clear determination to clear new paths and lead the church to new places while reaching new people. These renewal leaders grow bored over unchanging routines and maintenance chores.

They acquire their energy from short term challenges and sprints rather than from marathons. Church revitalizers can easily persuade others to jump on the bandwagon. They are the hopeful one, and not just the optimistic ones. Church revitalizers inspire more than they motivate.

Have Courage in the Face of Opposition

“Church revitalizers need to be completely honest with themselves and with God about their sins and the sins of the people they lead. It takes a breaking of one’s self and a repentant soul to begin the process of renewal. Church revitalizers must start with themselves before they can begin with their church members.”

They refuse to simply go through the motions as a pastor and play church. Church revitalizers seek regeneration over stagnation.

These pastors must possess a single-mindedness that seeks out life and fosters the ability for others to sense life.

Church revitalizers take the time to honor the past so they can move productively into the future! They sense God’s call as a leader to develop growing spiritual churches.

Church revitalizers choose to be reaching out into the community over isolation behind fortress walls.

Church renewal pastors expend their time on ministries that will grow a church over ministries that are detached from the congregation’s life and ministry.

Church revitalizers realize that most churches do not grow under the leadership of the “nice” leader! A renewal pastor must be open, honest, firm, straight forward, able to confront problems and manage conflict while displaying love towards everyone. Church revitalizers have the courage to do the things necessary in the face of opposition, criticism, and emotional pain! Church revitalizers are able to handle the blows of personal attacks by keeping their objectives in view. They know they are chosen and sent. These revitalizers repel those who are caretakers and managers of the status quo and choose those of life and vitality. Church revitalizers are committed to the ongoing long-term mission of revitalization.

Fun to be Around

Are Personal Soul Winners

Church revitalizers choose making ministry fun again over one that snoozes on. Because they choose bold advancement over mild maintenance, newer church members will rally around their causes. They choose to be pioneers over patio sitters. Church revitalizers choose to move forward now over tomorrow! These ministers function more as an apostle than a lethargic leader.

Church revitalizers are personal evangelist and actively participate in reaching individuals for Christ as a soul winner. These ministers care more about everyone coming to know Jesus Christ than they care about keeping their churches small enough so that they can know everyone. They joyfully and expectantly reproduce disciples. Church revitalizers reach out to pockets

Choose Life Over Death

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of people not currently being reached in one’s community. They are not afraid of taking risks for the advancement of the Gospel.

A Gatherer of People Every church revitalizer must be a gatherer of people.

Can the pastor who wants to be part of church revitalization gather, draw, and compel people from the community that have no church background to become part of his church? One pastor believed he was to revitalize a church, but he could not start one single ongoing small group in an existing church. If you are not a gatherer you will most likely be a failure as a church revitalizer and probably not meant to revitalize the church.

A Multi-tasking Generalist Church Revitalizers do not have the comfort of being responsible for only one thing in ministry such as preaching. Even though preaching and teaching will be part of your tasks as a revitalizer, you will operate more as a generalist over a specialist. Wearing multiple hats and doing multiple things will be part of revitalizing one’s church. You must be equally strong at many things over one thing. You will often be a preacher one moment and song leader the next. You will manage projects while functioning as you own “I-T” guy. You will be the janitor and maintenance man until you are able to give these things away to others. Early as the church revitalizer you must function as a multi-tasking generalist.

Pioneers and Not a Settlers Church revitalizers have the ability to re-establish mission outposts for the Lord. In fact most would rather be a pioneer than a settler. Revitalization has adventure as one watches the Lord bring a renewed blessing to the declining church.

Honest Leaders One of the leading reasons why church renewal efforts fail is a lack of integrity on the part of the revitalizer. A church revitalizer who has integrity is not only honest but also emotion ally and spiritually sound. For example, if a boat has structural integrity it will not sink during a storm. The church revitalizer’s honesty and soundness will be put to the test during the “storms” of renewing a church. You must be a person of integrity.

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Wrapping it Up While not having any remaining targets, I do have a few more bullets to lay before you. Church revitalizers should work at effective and honest communication.

They do the work of ministry through the gifts of its laity. Revitalizers have high expectations for ministry and give very generous affirmation for achievement.

Church revitalizers understand the tension between the creative chaos necessary to do something new while still remaining faithful to the core values of the church. The have the right attitude and the right stuff by possessing the right skill sets for turning a church around.

Church revitalizers have the ability to motivate others to follow their leadership and can keep the church moving towards its developed and declared goals.

Using a football term, church revitalizers are always wanting the “ball” in the critical minutes of the game.

These revitalizers do not practice a same set of tricks from church to church but rather change from pastorate to pastorate so the adjustment is more in line with that which the church needs over a bag of tricks and tracks. These are the characteristics of successful church revitalizers.

Tom Cheyney is the Founder & Directional Leader of the RENOVATE National Church Revitalization Conference (RenovateConference.org).

Some of Tom’s books include: The Church Revitalizer as Change Agent, Slaying the Dragons of Church Revitalization: Dealing with the Critical Issues that are Hurting Your Church; and Church Revitalization in Rural America: Restoring Churches in America’s Heartland. Tom lives in Orlando, Florida with his wife Cheryl and travels all over North America assisting declining churches by bringing revitalization and renewal to the congregations.

With the busy-ness of the holiday season and the commercialization of Christmas, many people neglect the true meaning of this holy day. In The Joy of Jesus at Christmas, Joel Breidenbaugh takes his readers through God’s promises, hints, announcements, fullllment and celebration of sending His Son Christ into the world.

The reader will nd several unique features in this book, including biblical

commentary, poetry, application and songs, in order to underscore the value of worship in light of the Advent of Christ.

THE JOY OF JESUS AT CHRISTMAS

Can Help You Both Understand God’s Word Better and Grow in Your Worship of the Lord.

RENOVATE Publishing Group

By Lee Kricher Did you watch at least one movie in the last month? If so, did you rent that movie at a Blockbuster outlet? Chances are, the answer is no. In 2004, there were over 9,000 Blockbuster outlets. Today there is only one in the entire United States. There was a time when I used to go to Blockbuster at least once a week. It was convenient because it was next to Fotomat where I got my pictures developed.

Blockbuster outlets didn’t close their doors because people stopped watching movies. Blockbuster closed their doors because their approach to renting movies stopped working for a new generation. In the same way, your church will not close its doors because people no longer need the hope and purpose found in Jesus Christ. However, your church may close its doors because your approach to introducing people to the hope and purpose in Jesus Christ does not work for a new generation.

One wise leader said – “When the changes on the outside of your organization are taking place more quickly than the changes inside, the end is in sight.” That proved to be true for Blockbuster. It could easily be true for your church and for mine.

The Path to Extinction

The other day I was talking to a guy in his late 60s who said that he was just waiting for the doors of his church to close since he was one of the youngest people in the church. I told him about some of the changes we made at our church that created an environment that led to young people starting to come again. I mentioned that one of the many changes we made was to institute a more relaxed dress code. He said, “I wear a suit and tie to church and that is not going to change - no matter what.” I asked him, “How about if something as simple as a relaxed dress code could make your church more appealing to your children and grandchildren?” He paused for a moment and said, “I wear a suit and tie to church and that is not going to change - no matter what.” What he was actually saying is that he was OK with being part of a Blockbuster church.

Our church was ready to close its doors in 2003 because we were an aging, dying church with almost no children, almost no young adults and just a few token young couples. One of the changes we made in our church was to convert some

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of our adult multi-purpose rooms into kids-friendly rooms that were dedicated to children’s ministry. At the time, one of our biggest givers said, “Why would we invest in dedicated children’s environments when we have no children? And just so you know, the kids you are trying to reach don’t have checkbooks. If you go in this direction I am leaving and my checkbook is going with me.” What he was actually saying is that he was OK with being part of a Blockbuster church.

After spending several decades studying local churches that had ceased to exist, Thom S. Rainer in Autopsy of a Deceased Church wrote, The most pervasive and common thread of our autopsies was that the deceased churches lived for a long time with the past as hero. They held on more tightly with each progressive year. They often clung to things of the past with desperation and fear. And when any internal or external force tried to change the past, they responded with anger and resolution: ‘We will die before we change.’ And they did.

The people that Tom Rainer studied are not heroes who refused to compromise the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ. They were people in love with the past who refused to change their approach to church in a rapidly changing world.

These people were okay with being part of a Blockbuster church.

The Antidote

So what does it take to avoid a similar fate? The most important thing is for the people of a church to adopt a new mindset.

Paul wrote to Christians in and around Rome, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2) We often apply this truth only to individuals, but it also applies to churches.

I knew that there is always hope. I knew that with God all things are possible. But I also knew that nothing would change in our church without a change of mindset. Here are some examples of the ways that the thinking of the people of our church needed to change: • Our mindset of “We will just pray and wait for things to come back around” had to change to “We will pray AND make the changes needed in this rapidly changing world.”

• Our internally focused mindset of “God doesn’t care about numbers” had to change to “Every ‘number’ represents a person Jesus died for.”

• After visiting churches that were reaching the next generation, our mindset had to change from “That would never work for us” to “God, give us open hearts and minds to see the changes we need to make.”

• The most important change of mindset was related to this statement: “If it was good enough for me, it is good enough for our children.” We had to turn that statement into a question - “What will it take to reach the next generation?”

A number of things led to a change of thinking in our church that paved the way for our revitalization. Leaders in the church took “vision” trips (field trips) to churches that were reaching the next generation. We read books and articles about church revitalization. My weekend messages regularly touched on the importance of reaching people – not just keeping people. We did church-wide small group studies that opened people’s hearts to think about God’s will for the future of our church. And, of course, I had many personal conversations with people about stepping into the future without compromising our core beliefs.

I sincerely wish that everyone at Amplify Church had adopted a new way of thinking. In the first two years, about a third of

the people attending our church left to attend other churches. Fortunately, most people caught on to the vision. They embraced the hope that we could become healthy again with all generations well represented. The definitive change in mindset that we needed as a church did not take several years to kick in. We saw a tangible shift within a few months. We still had much work to do, but we were on our way.

Worth the Fight

I received a letter recently that was one of many confirmations that it was worth the fight.

Dear Pastor, I took my daughters (15 and 13) and their very close friend (17) to church this past Sunday. My daughter invited her friend because her friend kept asking why she “liked” church. She told her friend to come and find out.

I am writing this to you three days after the service because they are STILL talking about it! My daughter’s friend wants to come back. And my girls keep going on and on about how they learned so much from the weekend message. My older daughter said, “Mom, I understood everything he said and how to make it part of my life.”

Grateful over and over again, Danielle More and more church leaders are saying, “We may not be able to change our approach to church quickly enough to keep our doors open – but we will not go down without a fight.” They refuse to be a part of a Blockbuster church.

Questions for your consideration: As a church leader, does your level of urgency for change in your church match the pace of change happening around you? In what ways does your mindset and the mindset of the people of your church need to change?

Lee Kricher is the Senior Pastor of Amplify Church in Pittsburgh, PA, a church that experienced a dramatic turnaround from an aging, dying church of under 200 people to a church of over 2,000 people with every generation well represented. Lee is the author of For a New Generation: A Practical Guide For Revitalizing Your Church and founder of Future Forward Churches. You can contact him at lee@futureforwardchurches.com

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Character Qualities of the Good Revitalizer

By Terry Rials It is not difficult to identify well over one hundred, distinct character qualities, all of which could have direct bearing on the task of Church Revitalization. Often, when these qualities of character are listed and described, they are contrasted with the less desirable qualities found in the human race, for example, humility vs. pride. In that way, a person can see the preferable quality to obtain. One could argue that all character qualities are important; one could even make a compelling argument that they are all important to the task of Church Revitalization, but with so many qualities, it would be unfruitful to explore them all here. However, as it pertains to Church Revitalization, I have identified eight character qualities that are the most important to understand, and more importantly, to possess when leading your church revitalization process.

These eight character qualities fall into three basic categories, qualities of being, speaking, and leading.

Teachabilty

Having a teachable spirit is an incredible asset in Church Revitalization. Teachability is the quality of possessing the capacity to be taught and a willingness to learn or be trained without any reservations or hindrances. In many ways, leading Church Revitalization is unlike any other role in leadership. In all honesty, there is much to learn with this important discipline. There are new ways of looking at the church, looking at your leadership, and a brand new set of skills that must be acquired to do this well. The “kiss of death” in this business is the arrogant attitude that you know it all. In this role, the revitalizer is both the student and the teacher. He must learn as a student and then must be able to pass the content of what he has learned on to others. Go on the journey with incredible teachers. Learn from their successes and learn from their mistakes.

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Prayerfullness

While you may be tempted to believe that you can do this important task of leading revitalization on your own, you would be gravely mistaken. Honestly, you need the power of the Holy One to accomplish what He wills for His church.

Prayer is one of the greatest assets available to us. Prayerfulness is the ability to turn your life, leadership, and future success over to the Lord.

This is less about talking to the Lord about things, and more about trusting God with things. I can argue quite well that any attempt at leading Church Revitalization will fail miserably without learning to trust your life, your leadership, your church, and your progress into God’s hands.

Not only will you need to practice faithful prayer, but you will need to teach the people going on the journey with you to trust God with the outcomes as well.

Faith

Faith does not sound like a character quality, but it truly is.

Faith is having or developing an unshakable confidence in God and then acting upon it. Sometimes we act on what we know to do, but here again, we tend to have a human potential approach to leadership. We have a self-important notion that we can achieve anything once we understand what has to be done. How incredibly wrong and unspiritual that attitude is. We can accomplish nothing without the Lord’s help. “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it” (Psalm 127:1). Faith requires that we trust who God is and what God, and only God, can do.

Candor

Courage

One odd character quality that needs discussing is candor.

Perhaps perseverance and courage go “hand in glove.”

Candor is speaking the truth at the time when the truth Courage is performing one’s duty and standing up for one’s should be spoken, and it is an absolute necessity in Church convictions in spite of opposition or fear. The opposite of Revitalization. We live in a politically correct world today, courage is cowardice, and the enemy of courage is timidity. in which we are conditioned to restrain ourselves. We are God has not given us a spirit of fear for He is with us. His expected to say only things that are not offensive to othSpirit is guiding us. His Word compels us. His calling drives ers. I wonder, how much of the scriptures we would have us. Every great leader in the Bible found opposition to his to omit if making people feel comfortable and secure were or her leadership; that is true of Jesus Himself. In the book the goal? Nehemiah and the speaking prophets of the Old Who Moved My Cheese, a question is posted on the wall of Testament spoke the unqualified truth to their audiences. the maze, “What would you do if you were not afraid?” Fear The Lord Jesus expressed Himself in very unpopular ways; pins leaders down and hinders the work of Church Revicalling the Pharisees a brood of vipers did not make Him talization. They are afraid of making people angry, losing popular with the religious establishmembers, or of being fired. Courment! The truth is – all these things age will push us past these fears.

"We live in a politically needed to be said and God’s chosen leaders are willing to say them, even correct world today, in which if it means being as unpopular as we are conditioned to restrain Jeremiah.

Leadership

ourselves. We are expected to say only things that are not offensive to others. I wonder, how much of the scriptures we would have to omit if making people feel comfortable and secure were the goal?"

Sometimes we may slip into the false assumption that because we are in a leadership position that we are truly a leader, but that is not always the case. I know many pastors who do a fine job in the pulpit and who provide good pastoral care for their congregations, but they are not really leading their churches toward the goal. Leadership may be defined as guiding others toward a positive conclusion. Leadership is always active, never passive. When you consider leadership as actively guiding others, leadership is a character quality. The greatest vacuum we see in the realm of Church Revitalization is the lack of true, biblical leadership, and we are working hard to develop strong leaders who can guide their churches back to vitality.

Perseverance

Perseverance is a continuing effort to achieve something despite difficulties, failure and opposition. The task of Church Revitalization is fraught with difficulties, failure, and opposition in abundance. That is not to say that we should not do it. To borrow from one of my favorite movies, “It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great!” Not every person can lead Church Revitalization, that we understand. However, when we see leaders putting their whole heart into this work, despite the difficulties, we see how God rewards their efforts.

Patience

Church Revitalization takes an incredible amount of time to accomplish, which is an enormous investment of time in a leader’s life.

This crucial task requires patience, which is bearing provocation, annoyance, delay, or pain with complaint or loss of temper. Patience is often associated with being quiet, but leaders are never quiet while accomplishing their tasks. They must be, however, people of impeccable, unimpeachable character.

Some of the character qualities that I have selected may be different from what you expected, outside of the norm for most leadership roles, but they are vital to a successful leadership project. Qualities of character are developed over time, through circumstances, and by necessity. I leave you with this piece of advice – recognize quickly the character qualities that you need to develop in your life and start working on them!

Dr. Terry Rials is the founder of ChurchRevitalizer.com, serves as the Senior Pastor of the Crestview Baptist Church of Oklahoma City, and leads the Church Revitalization Team Leader for Capital Baptist Association. He earned his doctorate in Church Revitalization at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and is a frequent conference speaker.

He is co-author of The Nuts & Bolts of Church Revitalization!

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Helping Children Build Strong Faith Foundations

By Bill Hegedus

Every generation builds upon the previous one.

This phrase is one I am sure you have heard before.

It’s not a new statement, but it is so very true. Each generation passes down knowledge to the next in an effort to help them go further than they did. You can especially see this in technology. Many of our advancements in the world of technology are based on previous discoveries. Cell phones would be a great example of this. Each year a newer version comes out with enhanced features, better camera, better screen or battery life. They take what is existing and build off of it.

Even though this is the case in many areas, it’s not necessarily true when it comes to faith. The foundation set for the next generation is not solid when it comes to church. Why is that? I believe that most churches fall into one of two categories. The first being a focus on evangelism—to see as many people come to know Christ as possible. The second being focused on “discipleship”—wanting to provide avenues for a person to grow deeper in their

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faith. Both of these are great and serve the great commission. Very few churches have a balanced approach with BOTH evangelism and discipleship. You may disagree with this next statement, but if we are honest with ourselves, we know in most cases this is an accurate representation. The statement is simply this—for most pastors, the evangelistic and discipleship approach is thought through the lens of adults, and not students or children.

Sure we would all say we are all about reaching and growing the next generation, but statistics show otherwise. A recent study by the Barna Group of Generation Z (those born after 1999) shows that only 4% have a biblical world view. Only 4%! This is a generation that by the 2020 will account for one third of the world’s population. Today’s children and teens are facing identity issues like never before.

44% said they struggle with sexual identity issues.

Another scary statistic is that only 61% of teens that attend church believe the Bible is totally accurate in all the principles it teaches. That number goes way

down when you include all teens. These numbers show anything but a solid faith foundation for the next generation.

We as a church need to help this generation build a strong foundation of faith for them to stand on.

To help these kids and students find their identity in Christ and not social media or through others.

This is something that I believe we as a church can do and are required to do. The hard part is actually doing it. Moving from statements and statistics to action. It’s the hardest because it does require action, and in most cases, change.

Here are a few things I believe are critical when it comes to helping the next generation develop a strong faith foundation. First, we have to engage them where they are at. That means understanding them and looking at things from their point of view.

Franklin Covey said it best when he said, “First seek to understand, then be understood”.

It is way more than a program, event or a class.

Often times when we identify a need in church we tend to try and solve it with a specific classes or programs that address the issue. That won’t work with the next generation. It requires more. It requires relationship. What this generation longs for more than any other is a sense of understanding and belonging. Understanding coming first. Start by providing opportunities and spaces to build relationships between leaders and students. Teens are naturally drawn to the oldest person in the room that takes them seriously. The statement, “they don’t care how much you know, till they know how much you care” is even more true when it comes to this generation. Kids are more skeptical now than ever before. Winning this generation over takes time and intentionality.

Second, when it comes to discipleship, we need to equip them with the truth and empower them to live it out. For this new generation it looks completely different than any other. We can’t just tell them what to do or think; we must guide them to discover the truth for themselves. They are more likely to accept and retain the information if they are the one discovering it. For example, in our preteen environment we use our large group time, about ten minutes, as a way to introduce a faith foundation question or issue. We use questions to start the thinking process for them. We don’t

answer the question, rather we introduce it. This is done in a way that gives them an opportunity to answer on the spot with their natural opinion. For example, one week the question was “is there a sin so big it could keep me out of heaven?”. We got all kinds of answers. We didn’t tell them which was right or wrong at this point. This helped create an opportunity for investigation—kids love to investigate. Then we used our small group time, about twenty minutes, to help kids dig deeper into the topic. We asked open ended questions that were accompanied by scripture. This allows the child to look up the scripture and use it as the lens to answer the question. Then they discuss how it is relevant to current life situations.

We do this for two reasons. First it creates the habit of looking to the bible for answers to life’s tough questions. This establishes God’s word as a source of truth they can trust. Second, it shows how the bible is relevant to everyday life. We don’t want to just help them understand their faith, but provide practical ways they can live it out. We then come back to large group for about five to ten minutes to discuss what they discovered and assure everyone arrived at the correct biblical truth. This has been very effective with our kids and students.

Now, it may look different for your church, which it should. Every church is different, just like every child is different. However, whatever you do, make sure you think of it through the lens of the way this generation learns. Today’s kids can process information much faster than any other before. This is thanks to social media, video games and technology. This also means their attention span is much lower. They learn best in short

Bill Hegedus is the Family Pastor at Bethlehem Church in Atlanta. Bill has over 15 years experience ministering to kids and families. His heart and passion is to help kids understand and live out a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Often described as a big kid himself, Bill uses laughter and innovation to do ministry in an exciting and memorable way kids enjoy.

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Reasons Why Pastors Can’t Lead

In 1976, leadership guru Warren Bennis wrote his attention grabbing, The Unconscious Conspiracy: Why Leaders Can’t Lead.

The typical American evangelical pastor has the same problem which Bennis described: he lacks competence at a skill which is vitally important to the effectiveness of local churches: leadership.

Estimates from Gary McIntosh, Paul Bordon, Gordon Penfold, Aubrey Malphurs and others agree that only about 10% of American evangelical pastors have the leadership skills needed to transition congregations from ineffectiveness to effectiveness.

Fortunately, another 70% (approximately) of evangelical pastors have an interest in and a capacity for becoming effective, revitalization (or “turnaround”) leaders. If you are part of the 70%, please prayerfully consider the following, and know that God has all the power He needs to grow us “70%” guys into real revitalization leaders.

So why can’t pastors lead?

1. They’re focused on the fellowship of the flock, not the mission of the flock.

According to Jesus (Matthew 16:18) the Church is supposed to storm the gates of hell and snatch people out of the flames. But human organizations of all kinds tend to devolve into sources of comfortable fellowship.

The kind of fantastic fellowship experienced by the Philippian Christians (Philippians 1:5) can only be attained by focusing on mission, not by focusing on fellowship. The best fellowship is enjoyed by men and women who are passionately, prayerfully, on mission, together.

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By Brian Thorstad they don’t want to go on dangerous missions to reach lost sheep.

The easiest way for any pastor to be loved by the sheep is to focus on their comfort. But is being loved by the sheep a worthy goal?

3. They’re focused on individuals, not the flock.

One of the quickest ways to ruin the missional effectiveness of any congregation is to put individuals over the health and effectiveness of the group.

We can’t hold Pastor Bob accountable because he’s the founder of our church. We can’t confront Elder Pete about never actually doing anything because he’s related to half the church. It doesn’t take many unaccountable individuals to create a dysfunctional church.

4. They’re addicted to human approval.

Becoming addicted to human approval is easy. Ultimately, it’s more “worldly” than smoking and drinking and gambling because it brings us the pleasure of human strokes, in this life, at the expense of Jesus’ approval at the judgment seat.

5. They weren’t trained for it.

Christian universities and seminaries are increasingly focusing on the value of leadership. In my day, however, leadership was something you heard about from time to time in chapel, but there were no classes on it.

6. They weren’t hired for it.

2.They’re focused on the comfort of the sheep.

Smaller churches in particular, are not looking for their pastors to be leaders.

Sheep want to be led to green pastures and beside still waters. They don’t want change, they don’t want to be sheared, they don’t want to go through scary valleys and

They want someone to comfort them, to pour oil on their wounds and to encourage them. Those needs are best met by teams of lay persons, not the senior or solo pastor,

who is desperately needed as a leader, not a chaplain (and it’s very hard to be both).

13. They believe that their temperaments disqualify them.

7. They’re confused about servant leadership.

There is some truth to the concept of the “born leader.”

Some of us find it much easier to become good leaders than others do.

When Jesus taught his disciples about being servant leaders (Mark 10:35-45), he wasn’t giving them a ministry description for leadership. He was talking about the attitude of the godly leader.

The servant leader serves others by leading them well, for their sakes, and supremely, for God’s glory.

8. They’re not being coached for it.

As pastors, older and wiser coaches who have been where we are now are invaluable. In no area is this more true than in our role as leaders. Great pastors find and take advantage of great coaches.

9. They have guilty consciences.

Here’s one more reason to clean up our lives and get our bad habits and secret sins out of the way. A guilty conscience stifles our prayers as we kneel before God and strangles our confidence as we stand before people.

10. They have a false understanding of humility.

Would-be leaders from certain cultural backgrounds are plagued by this. In my Midwestern, Norwegian-Lutheran, rural background, humility precluded leadership. Anybody purporting to stand in front of a group and say “follow me to a better place” was seen as having a “big head.”

11. They are haunted by past leadership failures.

Just about anyone who has led successfully has also led unsuccessfully. Winston Churchill famously said that “Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”

Old patterns of failure are not a life sentence! There are many pastors serving joyfully and effectively today, turning their churches from ill health to vibrant, great-commission effectiveness, who took their turn at experiencing failure in the past.

12. They believe that leadership and dependent prayer are incompatible.

Many of us have heard or read something like the following: “I was deeply into reading and learning about leadership but I was still failing. When I got serious about prayer, God starting using me greatly and I repented of my interest in leadership.”

But Christian leadership is a spiritual ministry, which means that it’s powered by prayer. Praying for the success of our leadership doesn’t eliminate the need to offer God’s people good, wise, informed and bold leadership. God, in fact, gives great leaders in answer to powerful prayers.

But the studies of James Kouzes and Barry Posner (The Leadership Challenge), as well as anecdotal evidence demonstrate that ordinary people can learn how to lead.

The character traits can be developed by our all-powerful God and the skills needed can be learned and sharpened over time.

14. They think that it’s not Biblical.

Many pastors believe that the Bible entrusts the governance of churches to elders (Acts 20:17ff; I Peter 5:1-4; I Timothy 5:17ff) it rules out the possibility of one of these elders serving as the leader of the group.

But the best elders know that “groups don’t lead, groups are led” and that churches which become effective are almost always led by capable pastor-leaders.

The team of elders doesn’t need to give up its authority and responsibility when entrusting the leadership of the group and the supervision of the church’s ministry leaders and staff to a godly, competent pastor.

15. They think that congregational unanimity is essential.

Unity is important but 100% unanimity is a dream. Some people are always going to resist the proposals of their leaders, no matter how worthy they are and no matter how carefully they have been presented.

The pastor who will not present the proposal until he’s sure of a 100% positive response will simply never present the proposal.

Have you been unable to lead for one or more of the above reasons?

What can you do to overcome your leadership challenge?

Do you know someone who can guide, mentor and coach you?

Brian Thorstad has completed seven transformational interim pastorates over fifteen years in three states, Brian Thorstad is about to begin his new role as the Church Leadership Catalyst for the Forest Lakes (Wisconsin) District of the Evangelical Free Church. He is the author of Heaven Help Our Church! (A Survival Guide For Christians in Troubled Churches) and Redevelopment: Transitional Pastoring That Transforms Churches.

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Church Revitalization:

It’s Every Pastor’s Calling

By Ron Smith

“Set Things in Order”

Leadership

Titus makes it clear that our calling is to set things in order.

So, let’s examine this in light of our duties.

Every living thing needs attention. Everything naturally digresses. Attention must be given to ensure life. Even church plants need revitalization at some point.

Appoint leaders: As a pastor you can raise the commitment of leadership by looking for qualified leaders. Textually and contextually Paul is authorizing Titus to select men qualified to meet the call of Elder, Bishop, Pastor. Titus is appointing qualified men to be called out to serve as Pastors of the new churches established in Crete.

The early church in Acts was constantly fighting against returning to Judaism.

As Pastors we are to pass on the truths of sound doctrine to trustworthy men (2 Timothy 2:2).

For Nehemiah although the wall took only 52 days to complete, the people became discouraged at the halfway point: just 26 days into the project! Nehemiah had to renew their vision. It’s amazing how quickly human beings—and churches—lose their sense of purpose and vision. Refreshing, reminding and revitalizing are not tasks you do once and then forget. You must continually clarify and communicate the work of your church. This is the number one responsibility of leadership.

If everything rises and falls on leadership then the work of the church will be lifted and carried by selected leaders. It is our job as Pastors to seek out, appoint, train and employ leaders.

The reality is this, where there are people there is a need for a Savior. Where these people convert to Christ churches are needed. Where there are churches pastors are a must.

Where do we start?

The Revitalization Process (How to Set Things in Order):

Leadership

Structure

Mission

These three will be your continuous focus for movement.

As Pastors we must hold firm to sound doctrine in order to give instruction in sound doctrine. Point: We need found, sound leaders who are grounded in the Word of God. I have learned that found sound grounded men have less opinion and more conviction. Conviction moves people toward God’s purpose and plan. Leaders filled with sound doctrine can rebuke opinions that contradict the truth.

Listen, revitalization is not a marketing campaign to polish the churches image. Revitalization is a continual process of remembering our first love, remaining faithful, repenting of sin, strengthening what remains, and keeping the fires hot so we can fulfill the mission.

Structure As you read further in Titus you will find these nuggets: We are called to teach doctrine, train and develop men of char-

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acter. Instructing them to submit to authority for the glory of God. Titus continues – We are called to wait or look, long and labor for the coming of Christ. Declare the truth. And remind believers to submit, obey, be ready and avoid foolishness.

Mission Our mission is one of “good works,” Titus 2:7.

What are “good works?”

For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and long-suffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. (Colossians 1:9-12)

Good works are our edifying example to our fellow believers.

“In all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility” (Titus 2:7).

Good works are the means by which we minister to the needs of our fellow believers. “And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful” (Titus 3:14) Good works are an integral part of God’s eternal plan, and therefore they are our highest responsibility. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

“When you clean up the heart, you clear up the mind.”

What constitutes “good works?” What is the definition of “good works ?“ As we look at Scripture we find that the word “good” is translated to mean that which is by its nature pleasing (that is, pleasing to God), that which is upright and honorable in His sight.

Good works are a believers’ love-offerings to God. Ephesians 5:2 tells us that our walk in Christ, our good works in Christ, are the sweet-smelling aroma of a sacrificial love offering to God. Good works are our witness to the unsaved. The fruit of which Paul speaks here in Colossians is not the saving of souls as such, but rather it is our witness to unsaved souls, which God the Holy Spirit uses as one of the means by which He brings lost souls to faith in Christ. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles [that is, among the unsaved], that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation” -- that is, when God brings any of them to faith in Christ because of your witness (1 Peter 2:11-12).

This is the proper nature of good works -- not to please us, but to please Christ. Salvation in Christ is the root, good works are the fruit, and our good works are part of God’s plan for Christians. We are to bear witness to the lost world, and to be an example and blessing to others, especially for the edification of our fellow believers.

Right doctrine leads to good works, and good works makes for healthy followers, healthy followers make for a healthy body. Healthy followers and a healthy body make the truth of God attractive to others. Boom! The Church is alive and constantly being revitalized.

The work of revitalization is the calling of all pastors. When you clean up the heart, you clear up the mind. A clean heart and a clear mind help control the tongue and channel the energy to accomplish the mission.

Our calling is to set things in order: - Appoint Leaders - Instruct people to be sensible – and Encourage good works.

Ron Smith is the Senior Pastor of WaterStone Church in Longwood and Lake Mary, Florida.

Ron is the author of Churches Gone Wild. Ron serves as the National Coach for Renovate and the Co-Leader of Renovate One Day with Tom Cheyney.

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The Revitalization Leadership Challenge

By Chris Irving I am a huge fan of college football. I do not mind the NFL, but for this Texas boy college football is where my allegiances rest. My beloved Texas A&M made arguably the biggest splash this off-season when they pulled Jimbo Fisher away from Florida State, sorry Seminoles friends and fans. The Aggies, for many generations, place themselves in the national conversation every year…yeah in our own minds. The product on the field is less than stellar and quite often down right embarrassing. So the coaching carousel turns and now it is time for Jimbo to do his thing in College Station. The expectations always run high and the reality is usually a bummer. But this coach seems to be different than the last several coaches hired in Aggieland. He is bringing a different demeanor to the field and a toughness not seen since the days of Bear Bryant. Jimbo Fisher is facing an uphill battle at A&M as the expectations are very high for what he and the team will do. But the discipline he brings into the program seem to be what is catching the eye of many in College Station.

Pastoring a turnaround church and a coaching a turnaround team are not all that different.

Sure one is a multi-million dollar industry but in both situations, the pastor or the coach must lead with certain disciplines in place in order to find success. Okay… enough football and on to the real topic.

What are the keys to serving as a successful revitalization pastor? The answer to this is what I call the revitalization leadership challenge.

Start with Prayer In my writing and preaching, Nehemiah is a man of God to whom I often turn as an example of leadership in revitalization. Nehemiah began with prayer upon learning of the plight of

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Jerusalem and her walls. Not just uttering words and sentiment, but Nehemiah felt this prayer for Jerusalem as he fasted and prayed. How often do you pray hard for your church and the work of revitalization? Nehemiah prayed for several months before he took any action. Prayer often causes us to pause and consider His plans, purposes, and timing. Anxiety is squashed when we offer our prayers and supplications with thanksgiving to God as His grace overwhelms our inner being. This is why you start with prayer and it is arguably the most important of disciplines for the revitalizer. You are only as spiritually and emotionally healthy as your prayer life reflects it. Is your faith in God reflected by your prayer life?

So what kind of prayer should we pray? What is the focus of my prayer life? I already mentioned Philippians 4:6-7 as we deal with the anxiety of revitalization. Anxiety migrates into our life from different places and people, yet we are commanded to “cast our cares upon Him because He cares for us.” You must focus on the God who called you into this work for He is the one who offers freedom from anxiety and exchanges anxiety for peace. Second, you must pray as Jesus prayed. He prayed for the Kingdom of God to come and for His will to be done on earth as it is done in heaven. You pray with kingdom focus because the church is His domain. You must also consider Jesus’ prayer in John 17 where Jesus prayed for church oneness, and that the gospel advance because of that unity. You and I can echo this prayer and then are tasked to live this out on a regular basis. I am convinced by the Apostle Paul, in regards to unity, that the church ought to pray through Philippians 2:1-11 as we deal with conflict. Praying for the grace of humility might just lead the church forward as you focus your prayer on seeking the Kingdom of God first.

What is a healthy frequency of prayer? I often asked a question of every English teacher when they assigned a writing assignment, “How long does the paper have to be?” My favorite reply was, “How long is a string?” The simple answer is “as long as it needs to be.” Jesus prayed often by himself, removed from the disciples and removed from the throngs of people pursuing His miraculous works. You may not have throngs of people flocking to you as a revitalizer, but you must seek Him often, even multiple times a day if needed. Don’t pray just to check that box off for the day but pray for the relationship and the peace of God. Pray for the antagonist by name. Pray for the vision and direction of the church. Pray for your family and the families of those in the church. Pray for the lost to come to Christ through the ministry of the local church. Prayer is the one of the most essential disciplines of revitalization as you are powerless without it.

Cast the Vision The vision for your church is not “Your Best Church Now,” but you will need to be able to consistently present the vision for your church. Andrew Davis, pastor of FBC Durham, NC pointed out in an article in Forbes magazine that vision in business “requires that you clearly see where you choose to be in the future and formulate the necessary steps to get your organization there.”1 Davis points out in the definition offered by Forbes, the visionary leader looks within himself to find the vision but of course in revitalization this is not the case. The vision for revitalization is first from the heart of God and carried out through the power of the Holy Spirit. God passionately loves the church, so much so that Jesus sends seven letters to seven churches as captured in Revelation. Each one has different issues, but all are loved and given the opportunity repent and find a renewal and gospel fervor. So the vision for the revitalizer is ultimately centered on God’s Word says Davis. I agree. It is a dangerous thing to pull vision from secular and cultural contexts and try to find a biblical rationale for your vision. So search the scriptures for God’s vision for the church.

not be the same vision for your congregation. See the seven churches of the Revelation as each one of them are in different levels of their journey. The context of each church being different led to different issues yet they all were addressed by Jesus. So there is something in the Bible for your people. Dig and find it in God’s Word. But address it to not only to the context of the text, but apply it to the context you are facing today.

Finally, repeat your vision as often as you can. As you are planning your calendar, repeat it for each event to make sure the ministries of the church are focused on the vision. Repeat it from the pulpit, and repeat it in the announcements. Print it, share it, and let them see your passion for it flow from God’s Word.

Intentional Conversations One of my weaknesses is books. I love to read and study which means I naturally do not get out of my office. But in the work of revitalization, I have learned it is something I must do to redeem the time given for the church. One thing I must do is have intentional, and sometimes awkward conversations.

Often times I encounter discouragement because of changes happening in the church, or on the extremely rare occasion, change not happening fast enough.

But a simple reminder and blessing of encouragement to those most affected often can turn the tide of the church. Ministry assassins and antagonists are planted in every congregation.

But one thing you must learn is how to respond to the harsh criticism. Paul offers helpful truth in Philippians, a church with conflict between two women. He issues the church the command to have the same attitude as Christ.

A humble attitude that calls for less of me and more of thee. A mindset that asks us to pray for the assassin and the antagonist. That we return a harsh word from an opponent with a gentle and humble response.

“Prayer is the one of the most essential disciplines of revitalization as you are powerlesswithout it.”

The piece of the vision puzzle is that it needs contextualization. The vision for FBC Gonzales where I pastor may 1Andrews Davis, Revitalize: Biblical Keys to Helping Your Church Come Alive Again (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2017), 106

Beyond the awkward conversations, you must offer the vision in these intentional conversations. Build momentum and show your excitement for what God is doing.

Turn the conversation into an opportunity to build the coalition of support and form up the revitalization team in your congregation. You don’t have to be a salesman, but redeem the conversation for the church.

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To end these conversations, offer up a prayer for the church, and for each other. I believe if we prayed for each other rather than opposing each other we would see turn around churches everywhere.

Preach the Word It goes without saying, but you have a biblical mandate to preach the Word of God. Friends, saturate your church with the Word. Paul gave warning in his letters to Timothy of a day when the church would not tolerate sound teaching and doctrine. That day is now and now more than ever it is vital that we preach the Word of God with a heavenly calling and conviction. The Scripture contains God’s vision for the church, it gives us the Gospel mandate to make disciples, it reminds us His glory is our aim, and that we must push forward and by His grace the church will overcome. I advocate for text-driven preaching, or expository preaching, which means the text drives the message not the other way around. God’s Word contains the timeless principles the church needs to grow in Christlikeness. Pastor, preach the Word!

Let me just end this by encouraging you one more time to end your day with prayer. Prayers of thanksgiving, even in the hard moments, trials, and testing of your faith because such times push you forward and grow endurance.

I am thankful for the call of God upon my life to pastor the local church. Each church I’ve pastored is a collection of peculiar people, but many of them belonged to Jesus.

I am thankful for my wife and children. But above all else, I am most grateful for the grace of God having called me out of darkness into His marvelous light.

I believe if you will practice these disciplines in your pastoral life, you will win the race God has called you to run which is the Revitalization Leadership Challenge. “To Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-22

Chris Irving is the Lead Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Gonzales, TX. Chris has served in ministry for 15 years in Texas. He led a small rural church to revitalization and is currently involved in the revitalization process of First Baptist Gonzales. Dr. Irving aims to help pastors equip the lay leadership of the church to serve in ministry. He and his wife, Amber have been married for 14 years and have six children.

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GARDENING Model

By George Thomasson

for Mentoring Young Leaders

By George Thomasson

M

entoring young leaders is very much like gardening.

The skillful gardener has a picture of his healthy and fruitful garden in his mind. He knows the necessary steps in developing the garden and is willing to work hard to see it take shape. In some ways, every garden is different. The type of soil, the amount of anticipated rain, the drainage, and access to sunlight will likely be different in each case. In a way, the gardener has a special relationship with his garden. With God’s help, he has “birthed” a living thing that is bearing vegetables and fruit. Some gardeners actually talk to their plants! Even though the gardener is skillful and has a vision for what the garden can become, he will have to adjust the steps depending on the above variables.

Mentoring young leaders is very much the same. The “mentor” represents the “gardener” and the “mentee” is the “garden.” Mentors may be experienced and skillful at developing mentees, but they will all be different. The one common mark of all mentoring is relationship-building. The mentor must answer several assessment questions to determine how to proceed. Some of these are: •How long has my mentee been a follower of Christ?

•Has he been taken through an effective disciple-making process?

•If not, where should they begin in the process to form a solid foundation?

•How old is my mentee and has he been exposed to mature life experiences? (work, marriage, parenthood, etc.)

•What is my mentee’s educational background and what are his plans for future schooling?

•Does my mentee have practical experience in hands-on ministry?

•How about his church life?

•How does my mentee best learn? (oral, visual, on-the-job, etc.)

•Does my mentee have a clear sense of call to a specific type of ministry?

•What are my mentee’s expectations of our relationship and when will he be available to meet?

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•Does my mentee have an intentional commitment to become a mentor himself?

Once a mentor has assessed his mentee, he should think through possible adjustments to the mentoring process to make it a good “fit” for his mentee. Once this is begun, he may begin his “gardening.”

Suggest Steps in the GARDENING Model 1. Capture a vision for the garden After assessing your mentee and his specific calling, prayerfully determine his probable direction in ministry. You may want him to complete a spiritual gifts inventory and some type of personality test. This, along with his interests and skills, should help you determine how he is “wired” for ministry. This will allow you to help your mentee envision his future direction in ministry and begin praying for God’s clarity in next steps. Your mentee will find this to be very motivating and he should be energized for the journey.

2. Mark off the boundaries Now you can mark off the boundaries for your mentoring relationship. Depending on the area of ministry envisioned, you and the mentee can agree on time, place and frequency of meetings. You may also lay out a preliminary course of study. Regardless of the direction you decide to take, there should always be a “Learn to Do by Doing” element running through the heart of the mentoring relationship.

3. Begin working the soil Your assessment of the mentee will have revealed a lot about him. You should know how he thinks; how he prefers to learn and relate to others; his passions; his personality traits; etc. This will help you know how to relate to him. For example, if your mentee is highly relational and very outgoing, he will likely respond best to brief times of teaching mixed with personal illustrations/examples. He will enjoy dialoguing with you and asking probing questions. On the other hand, if your mentee is gifted bent toward adminis-

tration and execution, you will relate differently. He will like you to be more to the point and will want to problem-solve and design systems to make ministry more effective and efficient.

4. Set the garden up in rows Just like you decide where you will plant each vegetable or plant in what rows to organize your garden, you will need to organize your mentoring plan. This will give both you and your mentee a direction to follow. So, DO plan the subjects you want to address. However, do NOT put dates on the calendar for each subject. You want your times together to be built in the “flow” of your growing relationship. Be flexible.

Don’t hesitate to deviate from the subject at hand to address something currently capturing his attention. Seize the “teachable moments” and pour into your mentee.

5. Sow the seeds Implant into the mind and heart of your mentee truths from God’s Word; other resources, and your ministry experience.

Always remember and share with your mentee the vital principle taught by Jesus in John 12:24-26. “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.

He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me let him follow me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.” Above all lead your mentee to understand the Lordship of Jesus Christ. He must die to self daily and submit to His Lordship moment-by-moment.

6. Water the garden regularly No matter how fertile the soil or how good the seed, without the refreshment of water, the garden will die. Water to the garden is like fellowship to the mentoring relationship.

Plan fun times together. Go golfing, fishing or have a nice dinner out or in one of your homes. If your mentee is married, get together as couples. Have a cook-out. Play some table games and laugh. This will keep the relationship refreshed.

7. Spread fertilizer In most cases periodic applications of fertilizer feeds the garden and enhances healthy growth. Fertilizer can be compared to practical application of the mentorship teaching. For example, if you have taught your mentee how to conduct a wedding ceremony, ask him to attend a wedding rehearsal and ceremony that you perform. He should take copious notes; bring them to your next session and debrief with you. The next assignment could likely be for him to write his own wedding ceremony. Then you can go over it and suggest some improvements. This “fertilizer”—learning to do by doing—will result in healthy growth of your mentee. He will develop practical competencies.

8. Pull the weeds No gardener likes to pull weeds! However, he knows that

if weeds are allowed to get out of control, the plants in the garden will be starved for nourishment and moisture.

Weeds in a garden can be compared to poor time management in the mentee’s life. Regardless of the ministry direction the mentee pursues, he will always be pressed for time.

Teach him how to manage his time effectively and efficiently. He should have a master “to do” list, a weekly calendar reflecting personal and professional priorities, and a daily calendar. He should learn how to delegate and focus on what only he can do.

9. Prune when necessary Jesus shared the value of pruning in John 15:2, 5. “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes, that it may bear more fruit…I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” You will have to do some “pruning” in the life of your mentee along the way. Do not allow him to develop bad habits in ministry practices. He will tend to skip important steps to save time. Lop off those habits and redirect him. Explain why you are pruning them. The primary reason—pruning concentrates the sap and multiplies the fruit.

Keep him accountable and lovingly guide him in the right direction. Take him around the “box.” (See Disciple-making Process graphic) 10. Provide support as needed When you come to the conclusion of your formal mentoring relationship, it will be bittersweet for both of you. By now you have become family. In fact, you may feel closer than your blood family. Spiritually speaking you really are blood family in Christ. Your mentee probably wants to get heavily involved in ministry activity, so support him in prayer and let him know that you are there for him. Help him develop a good resume and recommend him as you feel led. You could also write him a letter of recommendation. Also encourage him to establish a lifestyle of mentoring, because “For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required.” Luke 12:48. Just as you have poured your life into him, so should he do in other promising young leaders.

Underlying principle: Work hard and spend time on your knees!

You will get your hands dirty, but it is definitely worth it. You are being used of God to reach and raise the next generation.

George Thomasson is a native of Arkansas but spent most of his ministry in Florida and Texas. He holds degrees from Palm Beach Atlantic University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is married to his high school sweetheart, Sandra. They have two grown children, Angie Gould and Greg Thomasson, who blessed them with two grandchildren each. He presently serves as Mobilization Pastor for Christ Place Church in Flowery Branch, Georgia.

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Markers on the Road to Revitalization

By Steve Smith I love the Blue Ridge Parkway and have driven it many times. This 469 mile road ribbons its way through some of the most beautiful scenery that you will ever see. All along the way are mile markers. They are not, as one might think, to help speed you on your way to the end, as in “How many miles can I knock out today?” Instead, they help you discover where to find the hidden treasures of waterfalls, museums, mountain craft shops and vistas. I have a book that tells me where to go for what I want to see. All I have to do is look for mile marker #__.

Church revitalization also has markers you need to look for. Revitalization involves many different things for pastors, from inward spiritual life to the outward testimony of the church to the community. It can include the care and concern of the church’s building as well as building healthy ministry systems. The personal involvement of people who have sat on their hands for years. The generosity of people in giving to the Lord. The upward spike in attendance during Sunday gatherings.

Lost people coming to faith.

With so many markers to look for, what are the significant ones to tell if you are on the right track? After all, some of the markers we look forward to seeing are farther down the road. The first five markers you find here represent the foundational changes, the ones that nurture and pour fuel on the revitalization fire as you progress. You’ll find them in the Book.

Marker #1 – More people are pursuing intimacy with God. Matthew 22:37 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

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No church is revitalized unless the people want God more than the secrets of their hearts. I teach a discipling process called The Key to Deep Change.

This transformational training shows people how to surrender the unfinished business they continue to carry long after putting their faith in Jesus. It emphasizes that only God can heal and free them, so they need to pursue intimacy with Him. Then they will trust Him when He tells them to take up their bed and walk!

This is the first marker because many churches are looking for the fruit of spiritual life instead of the cause of it. Pastors urge people to pray more, to get under the hearing of the Word or get people into reading through the Scriptures together—all good ideas—but they never help people to discover why they may be indifferent to God. Pursuing intimacy with God is incredibly important because it is the foundation that revitalization is built on. If you are missing this marker, all your efforts to bring renewal will be undone by opponents in the church whose unfinished business blinds them to the good God is doing in the congregation.

Marker #2 – We clearly see the people that God wants us to sow the gospel to.

Matthew 9:36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Biblical vision is about seeing who, not what, God wants you to see. Wherever Jesus went, he saw people who needed grace and truth. Zacchaeus in a tree. A woman by a well. The crowds who were like sheep without a shepherd.

It isn’t a revelation from God for your vision to state, “We want to be a biblical church.” You need to hear from God who your congregation is here to reach with the gospel.

To know the people in your neighborhood who are lost and see them with compassion like Jesus. To pray for them by name. When this comes to pass, your biggest obstacle to revitalization will have been removed.

Marker #3 – We are engaged in knowing and inviting the lost to come and hear the gospel.

Matthew 28:19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Many churches are dying because no one in the church has a real friendship with a lost person. They only hang out with their Christian buddies at church. They pray for the lost in a generic way—“God, please allow us to reach the lost.” Who are these lost?

They are the people who prefer Starbucks to church.

The gym to a Bible study. People you run into at your kids’ sports events whose name you know, but know nothing about their life.

When your congregation sees these people who Jesus sees, their next step is to go out and build a relationships with them. To go to their parties. To have them out for coffee. To get to know them and pray for their needs.

In doing so, God will give your people opportunities to invite them to hear the gospel. This is when revitalization begins to really make the church live.

Marker #4 – The people we are discipling in increasing numbers are growing in maturity.

Matthew 28:20 And teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

The second part of Jesus’ marching orders to the church was to make disciples. For countless churches, it is challenging task. There is no discipling process, partly because there have been so few new people coming to faith.

Discipling is not just about learning to do things for God—reading the Scripture, praying, witnessing, serving. It is also about the character of Christ being formed in each person—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and selfcontrol. This marker is about seeing people deeply

changed into the person they were created to be.

Be intentional. Discover how, and then set up a robust discipling pathway where people grow from the acorn to the oak. Teach people how to do it. Then assign them someone to disciple. When you see disciples growing from a trickle to a flood, the church is getting healthy again.

Marker #5 – We are raising up the next generation of leaders.

Ephesians 4:11-12 Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.

If you want to know how healthy your church is, look at the age of your leaders. Your leaders may be great, godly and generous with their time. But when a leadership team is not raising up the next generation of leaders, they are missing a critical point about leadership. Jesus gave the church leaders to raise up all the others to serve his church, so that the body will be built up.

When you raise up new leaders, stuff happens that could not happen before. New ministries get started.

New connection points into the congregation are made (it first takes more leaders to grow a church, not more people). The next generation is retained in the congregation because they are empowered to lead significantly.

Revitalization is a journey—sometimes a long one. It takes time and patience to guide your church to the place where people hunger and thirst for righteousness again. So don’t give up. And don’t be in such a rush to get to the results that you miss the significant markers that show you are going in the right direction.

Steve Smith is the founder of ChurchEquippers Ministries, serving churches by training them in transformational discipleship and church systems.

He is the author of several books including The Key to Deep Change and The Increasing Capacity Guidebook. He is a strategic thinker, a relational networker, a mentor and coach to pastors and young leaders. For more information, go to: www.ChurchEquippers.com

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Things I’ve Learned On the Way to Revitalization

By Bill Tenny-Brittian

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ost of my thirty-five plus years of professional ministry has been spent either starting new churches or turning around existing churches. To be fair, it’s a lot easier to start from scratch and if you have a choice, church planting is my best advice for those idealists who believe, as I do, that the local church is the best hope for the gospel. Church planting is still hard work, but compared to church revitalization, it’s a walk in the park.

If you’re a regular reader of The Church Revitalizer Magazine, you’ve already been exposed to the reality that there is no ministry more difficult than turning a church around and that there is no ministry that is more likely to damage your professional career. Revitalizers put their career and the personal lives at risk whenever they put their hand to the turnaround plow, but for some of us, there is no higher or more noble calling. I work with church turnarounds, as a practitioner, as a consultant, and as a coach because I have no choice. It’s not a calling I would wish on anyone, but it’s a calling I wish was visited upon more strongwilled and savvy leaders. With over 80% of US churches in some state of decline, our Lord knows we need more laborers in this particular field.

Having said that, let me share with you a few things I’ve learned on my way to church revitalization.

John Maxwell was Right – Everything Really Does Rise and Fall on Leadership If you’re the lead pastor of a turnaround church and

things aren’t progressing, the best place to discern where the problem is in the reflection of your bathroom mirror.

It’s easy to blame the culture, limited resources, and either the congregation as a whole or the bullies in the congregation. But as the church’s out-front leader, you are the chief influencer – and if you’re not, then you’re either in

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the wrong job or in the wrong place (and a key to effective leadership is having the discernment to recognize the potential in a situation and the courage to make the hard call: fight, flight, or change careers).

The most important tool a leader has at their disposal is the ability to cast a compelling vision. It turns out, that’s the one of the key differences between successful church revitalizers and those who try and fail. I’m not talking about just the overarching vision – although that’s critical. But would-be effective and successful leaders must have the ability to cast visions for the smaller steps that are between the current circumstances and vision fulfillment. You’ve got to be able to cast a vision to buy the new sound system, to change the vocabulary of the bulletin, to eliminate your office hours, and to get support for your spending no time doing hospital visitation in favor of spending significant time with Chamber of Commerce or at the Jr. College’s student center.

Culture Really Does Eat Strategic Plans for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner Although no one’s been able to find the direct quote, Peter Drucker gets the credit for coining the phrase. Business has been taking his axiom seriously for years and there’s plenty of research and anecdotal evidence to prove the point. The statement’s no less true in the church – in fact, it could have been written of the church.

With few exceptions, I’ve never know a pastor who’s taken the helm of a church with the intention of crashing it on the rocks. Instead, virtually every pastor has stepped up with strategies and plans designed to grow their church by serving and reaching people in the community. I currently serve a church that’s experienced a forty year decline. During those forty years, there have been five pastors who have tried to turn the ship around. Each one of

them experienced a short season of success followed by escalating decline. Of these five church leaders, each one came in with their own unique strategies … and each one failed. It would be easy to point at their strategies and conclude that each of them was clueless about how to grow a church, but each of them was able to bring about short-term growth. In other words, their strategies apparently had merit. So, why did the church fall back into decline each time?

The church culture literally ate their strategies for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In other words, the leaders were able to get new people in the door, at least for a time. But the church’s culture was problematic enough that the church couldn’t retain them long-term.

Because your church’s culture will eat your strategies, successful revitalizers understand that job one isn’t necessarily church growth. A revitalizer’s most critical job is to revitalize the church’s culture from one of stagnation and decline to one of positivity, welcome, unity, and connectedness.

There’s More Opposition Than You Think Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think search committees mean to lie or to shade the truth, but sometimes it seems like they just can’t help it. Every search committee I’ve ever spoken to has assured me that their church really does want to grow and they’re willing to make the changes necessary to grow. I believe in my heart-of-hearts that they really believe that too, but what they don’t seem to understand is that waiting in the wings of the church is a loosely organized group of people who will do nearly anything to ensure that the necessary changes won’t make it out of the starting gate.

I know this sounds pretty jaded, but here’s the reality. After coaching, consulting, training, and being actively involved in turnaround attempts from coast-to-coast, I find that the vast majority of church pastors are unprepared to face the level of opposition that they encounter in their turnaround work.

When I teach Pastoral Leadership at Phillips Seminary, there’s always push-back from my students when I introduce them to the concept of building alliances in order to ensure their agenda gets accepted and implemented.

It seems underhanded or disingenuous to intentionally stack the deck to ensure the right decision gets made.

But remember, it was Jesus who told his disciples to be as shrewd as snakes (Matthew 10:16) and to use money to make friends (Luke 16:9). If you’re going to successfully lead a turnaround, you’re going to need a cadre of folks you can count on to move your strategies forward and

who will have your back when the opposition arises – and it will arise. When it’s time to challenge the status quo, the opposition will organize. Make sure you have too.

Turnaround Will Take Longer Than You Think A church that’s been in decline for decades isn’t going to turnaround by the end of eighteen months. This is one of the reasons so few churches survive a serious turnaround effort – they don’t have the resources to hang on long enough to change their culture and implement a church growth strategic plan.

When I speak with pastors who want to make a commitment to turning a church around, they seem to think that they can whip the church into shape in three to five years.

The reality is, it nearly always takes that long just to lay the groundwork. You’ve got to reset the mission and vision; discern the values; rotate bullies, controllers, and antagonists out of leadership; wrest control of the day-today decisions from the fists of the board; launch a church member discipling process; connect with the community; and initiate the inklings of culture change – all that before any church growth strategy has a prayer of a chance.

In generally, it takes three to five years to build a foundation you can build on. It takes another two to five years to implement a church growth strategy. I suspect this is the reason Aubrey Malphurs used to say to his church planting classes that there was no one young enough to successfully turn a church around. If you’re seriously planning on implementing a complete revitalization, plan on no fewer than seven years and you might as well figure on being there for twelve or so – because it’s going to take longer than you think.

If, after all that, you’re still committed to revitalization ministry, then you’re probably crazy enough to pull it off.

As you travel the road, let me know how it’s going … I’ve always found it good to travel in packs.

Bill Tenny-Brittian is the managing partner of The Effective Church Group.

For over thirty years, The Effective Church Group has been equipping churches and church leaders so they can be successful in reaching their mission. We provide consulting and coaching using the time-tested Complete Ministry Audit to help churches reach maximum effectiveness. Learn more at EffectiveChurch.com.

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Breaking Up the Logjam

By Bud Brown

H

is first remark in our coaching session surprised me. He said, “I had an interesting experience. I surprised myself. I was dealing with the typical static you run into when you’re trying to change things. It didn’t frustrate me. I realized that church revitalization lies on the other side of conflict. My job is to lead through it, so the church can grow. That’s a new revelation for me.”

He reframed adversity as a challenge rather than an obstacle. I couldn’t have been prouder of him. This long-suffering pastor turned a corner. Instead of stewing over a problem, he saw it as a challenge. Then he thought of solutions.

Solution Focused

Problems are a given in pastoral ministry. You have problems if you attempt church revitalization. You have them if you don’t. It doesn’t matter if you’ve pastored that church for decades or arrived recently.

Either way, you’ll have ample opportunity to master problem-solving skills.

Revitalization pastors are different than maintenance pastors. They differ in where they focus attention.

Maintenance pastors focus on problems. Revitalizers focus on solutions.

Let me illustrate the difference. I helped a church with a “can do” optimist as its lead pastor. Sudden, explosive growth had overwhelmed them. The staff pastors managed well, managers, but they were poor problem solvers. They knew how to manage when things ran well, but sometimes they stalled when things didn’t.

The problem du jour was a difficult dilemma: the church had run out of space for toddlers. The lead pastor told the staff pastors to figure out how to free up space. He wanted them in a prime location on campus, so parents would feel their children were safe.

They used the space to make coffee. They brewed coffee in this valuable space. From there they carried

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it to stations around the campus. 3,000 Sunday worshippers drink a lot of coffee. The lead pastor’s directive had the potential of wreaking havoc among the caffeinated.

It was fascinating to watch the staff pastors come up with dozens of reasons why it couldn’t be done. They focused on the problem. It stumped them. It frustrated them. And they were angry with the lead pastor for even suggesting it.

When the objections slowed to a crawl I decided to step in to shift their focus. I pointed to the blueprints and asked, “Why do you need that janitor’s closet there?”

It was sandwiched between the men’s and women’s bathrooms in the main lobby. “You’ve got plumbing right there and there’s enough space. Move the prep station there and put the janitor’s closet someplace else.” A shift of focus broke the logjam. Ideas flowed.

They soon found a solution. The burgeoning toddler population had the needed space, the baristas had plenty of room, and the staff learned a valuable lesson.

There’s a reason maintenance pastors fail to lead church revitalization. They focus on problems. They ruminate. They fret. They work up a sense of helplessness. They conclude, “nothing will work in this church.

No matter what I try, it will be futile.” They remain mired in the past because that’s where the problems they’re focused on originated.

Revitalizers focus on solutions. They look to the future.

They’ll think about a problem long enough to gather information. Then they move into solution mode.

This solution focused approach is natural for a small percentage of pastors. The research does not identify how many, but you can find tantalizing hints in the literature. My best guess is that it comes naturally to about 20% of pastors.

The rest of us need to learn the discipline. That underscores the importance of another discipline characteristic of revitalizers. They engage in long term mentoring relationships.

Mentoring Relationship

Rare is the pastor who is capable of transitioning from maintenance to revitalization leadership without help.

Consider the innumerable changes pastors must make in that transition. To be a revitalization pastor, you must acquire new skills, cultivate dormant abilities, adapt new self-perceptions, reevaluate values, and develop new ways of coping with challenges.

These changes must be permanent. You have to keep working on these things, deliberately and systematically. You want these new leadership behaviors to be automatic. If not, you will slip back into your previous ineffective leadership style.

The need for a mentor is obvious. The research tells us that this is a key indicator of whether a pastor makes a successful transition to becoming a revitalization leader. Those who maintain long term mentoring relationships are more effective turnaround leaders. In our practice we have seen that pastors who try to become revitalizers without the benefit of a coach almost always fail. This is why revitalization pastors practice the discipline of engaging with a mentor while their maintenance colleagues typically do not.

Coaches guide us in a process that clarifies our values and pinpoints what we’d like to accomplish. A mentor provides direction and guidance toward mastering the knowledge and skills needed to succeed as a church revitalizer. Since new knowledge and new skills are crucial to becoming a revitalization leader, a mentor is the order of the day.

Time Management

Those who would become revitalization pastors have a lot to learn. To create the time they’ll need for everything they need to learn, they practice time management. In light of all a pastor must learn, the need is self-evident.

To become an effective revitalization leader a pastor must understand adaptive leadership, change management, conflict resolution, self-differentiation, emotional intelligence, cultural competence, strategic planning, ministry alignment, time management, church growth principles, and an array of other knowledge. In addition to mastering such a broad body of knowledge, revitalization pastors must become skillful at wisely applying what they learn to the unique and

often idiosyncratic situations they encounter in their churches!

Current models of training for vocational ministry teach neither this information nor these skills. Pastors must learn all this on the job if they are to learn them at all. For these reasons we strongly encourage our clients to create a learning environment that consists of several key features. First, take control of their schedule to create time for crucial learning activities: •Six hours per week for concentrated reading •Two hours per month for a learning community •One hour per month for mentoring or coaching This schedule creates an environment that is essential to a permanent change in habit: a relationship with a respected authority that believes in you and creates hope, and a routine of regular practice and accountability.

A Disciplined Life

A few years back Forbes told the rest of the world what most pastors already know - and sadly, what most church members don’t: being a pastor is one of the five hardest jobs in the world. The task is even more daunting if you try to lead church revitalization.

Relatively few pastors have the skills needed to turn a church around. If God hasn’t made you with revitalization skills as standard equipment, don’t fret. You’re not alone; the majority is with you.

You, along with tens of thousands of your colleagues, can become an effective revitalization leader. A life of futile ministry is not your inescapable fate. By redesigning your life to master the best ministry and leadership practices that correlate with church revitalization, you can become a turnaround pastor. Start by learning the disciplines of solution focus, time management, and working with a mentor.

Bud Brown has ministered in a wide variety of settings, from small rural to midsized suburban to rapidly growing megachurches. He has trained and mentored international students, intentional interim pastors, doctoral students, and now serves as president of Turnaround Pastors (www. turnaroundpastor.com).

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7 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Revitalized a Church

By Bob Whitesel Though the church began to grow again on my first turnaround effort, knowing the following would have made the journey more pleasurable for both myself and the congregation!

I wish I had known...

1. Church revitalization will take two to three times longer than you expect.

As my first church revitalization effort, I asked and received a one year contract. The church and I felt this would be sufficient time to turn the church into a new direction. But, at the end of one year I had only gained enough social capital for the congregation to start trusting me. It took another year, which the church graciously offered to finance, before the first signs of change emerged. However, when small fruit emerged at the end of the second year it provided a foundation for revitalization to actually emerge in the third year.

Here is a time line that works in many congregations, yet it’s slower than the church or the shepherd usually desires.

Year 1: Fact gathering and building up the social capital needed for the congregants to trust you.

Year 2: Implementing small change in the organization.

Small victories can begin to convince reticent members of

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the church the validity of the new direction. More on this in # 2.

Year 3: Church systems begin to change. Often times church leaders think if they change the system, then the congregants will change. But because the church is an organic institution (1 Cor. 12:12-27) changes in the system must bubble up from changes in people, not from topdown changes dictated from the top. A three year process gave this time to happen.

2. The power of small victories.

In year two, initial but small goals were attained. One of our small goals was to see in both the spring and fall a “Newcomers Sunday School class” emerge. We publicized the date for the beginning of the class even when we didn’t yet have any visitors. But once we published the date, suddenly members in the congregation started inviting their friends to church. The newcomers’ class provided a tangible target. Thus, small victories in the second year convinced the congregants we were headed in the right direction.

3. Don’t speed up too fast just because you have some small victories.

The small victories got the church excited and soon they were ready to launch a worship service oriented towards

younger people. At this time I came under a lot of pressure to begin the service immediately before it was thoroughly mapped out, staffed and prepared. Many of the leaders had read books that discussed how a church can grow up to 15% by adding a new service. And because the church had limped along not meeting it’s monthly budget for about 18 months, the pressure of an added revenue stream push the leaders to decide a new service was necessary sooner rather than later.

I advised and eventually convinced the leaders a slowed down approach was warranted, so that the new service could be better planned and developed. I fact, this new service did not begin until almost 11 months after we began planning it. The slower paced allowed new and younger leaders to be recruited and prepared. The extra planning time seemed excessive to me at first, but in hindsight it was just about right. It allowed the turnaround church to develop indigenous leaders who reached out in a well prepared worship expression.

4. Don’t expect new people to support the church financially or physically for some time.

The newcomers kept our church at arms length for almost a year or more before they decided to become part of our membership. They seem to thoroughly enjoy the newcomers class, but when membership was mentioned they often stiffened.

In response I used the metaphor of dating.

The first date: I said when new people visit a church, it’s like being on a date: you aren’t ready to commit to a long relationship but rather want to get to know the other.

The second date: Going to the newcomers class was like a second date: it was a time to get to know about the hopes, aspirations and purposes of one another.

Engagement: After completing the newcomers class I said they may want to pray and consider becoming a member. I encouraged them to consider more carefully their level of involvement, their spiritual gifts and how they would fit in. I also stressed that the engagement could be as long as they needed.

Marriage: Finally I explained that when they agreed to be part of a membership class, this was like marriage. They were not marrying to just a local congregation church but also to the body of Christ as present in His people.

5. You must spend more time in leadership development than you think.

As the church began to turnaround, there was an influx of

people excited about the church’s direction. But this sometimes draws people who did not fit well in their previous church, because they were not mature enough to take on leadership responsibilities. I learned the hard way that sometimes people who come to a revitalized church are often people who need revitalization themselves - because their involvement in another church has not been a healthy one. Therefore I developed leadership courses and a mentor/mentee system so that new leaders could be vetted and trained before they were put into volunteer roles.

6. There’s more power in spiritual +transformation than most people realize.

People began to share testimonies about how their lives were being changed by the Holy Spirit. An emphasis upon salvation began to refocus the church. Older members recalled how in the early days the church, they had also emphasized conversion accompanied by powerful testimonies of change. Older members began to see that a turnaround in spiritual climate mirrored those times in the past when the church had been happy and healthy.

As a result I train turnaround pastors in the importance of understanding a church’s history and to pinpoint when they had been alive in the past. Usually a church had been alive in the past when the church was involved in evangelism and conversion.

Reminding a church about this part of their history, made it more palatable for their present… the salvation of individuals.

7. Last, but not least, is the power of a praying congregation.

I set a goal for the prayer ministries to grow at the same rate as the church. If the church grew 10% in six months, we then expected 10% more people involved in prayer ministries. It has always seemed to me a spiritual principle that vibrant prayer life in a church would lead to a vibrant church.

Bob Whitesel has been called “the key spokesperson on change theory in the church today” by a national magazine and ranks as one of the nation’s most sought after church health and growth consultants. An award-winning author of 13 books, he founded an accredited seminary (Welsey Seminary at IWU) and created one of the nation’s most respected church health and growth consulting firms: ChurchHealth.net

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Does God really set people free?

Or are we just talking?

Transformational Discipleship was developed to train leaders how to guide both brand-new and longtime believers towards deep spiritual change.

This training is foundational for every believer. It guides people who are stuck on their faith journey due to unresolved, often hidden issues in their lives towards true spiritual, emotional and mental freedom through intimacy with God.

“It’s not like anything I have been through before.”

Pastor John Wright, Titusville, FL “This is life transforming. I’m going to teach the socks off this thing.”

Dr. Phil Phillips, Ft. Myers, FL

The local church is the only organization that can facilitate eternal hope, lasting change, and total transformation in the lives of people and communities everywhere. Even so, today’s local churches are often in desperate need of renewal and revitalization themselves. In The Revitalized Church, Pastor Michael Atherton uses his firsthand experiences to show how a local church community can once again become vibrant. The Revitalized Church shares Atherton’s eighteen-month journey merging two church communities with a common vision and discusses the challenges and the victories he encountered. In addition, he examines the key biblical leadership principles that were used to help sustain the church community.

Always a Student

By Jim Grant “Study to show yourself approved, a workman that needs not be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of God.” 2 Timothy 2:15 Personal disciplines carry with it the on-going maturity of the Revitalizer. In fact, the Revitalizer must be a discipler of himself and others in the work of Church Revitalization. The adage “you can’t lead someone where you yourself haven’t gone” is apropos.

A revitalizer must be a student; the aspect of learning most important is Life. In our current cultural setting of continuous change, it behooves anyone who desires to see the Kingdom of God expanded and healthy with new believers and mature saints to continue learning. Pastors are not exempt from this mandate. Once a person obtains scholastic credentials, it does not mean that “School is Out.” As a revitalizer and a pastor, I had to come to the reality that I have committed my life to constant learning. For one thing, seminary or bible college does not and cannot fully equip one for the pastoral ministry, much less the revitalization and restoration of Churches.

The foremost of discipline I had to learn was how to Persevere. Too often revitalizers are in a glass house with everyone watching. This brings many disappoints and successes. The problem seems that we revitalizers only remember the negative set-backs. Revitalization is unlike Church Planting. Most models of Church Planting are geared towards a 3-year window of establishment. It takes much longer to Revitalize an established Church with history and longevity already established. By most expert’s opinion, revitalization work takes anywhere from 5 to 7 years. This time frame must be embraced. Perseverance means determination, not swayed, grit and will power to stay at the work before us.

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Secondly, a revitalizer must take care of himself spiritually. The work of revitalization is long, hard and filled with spiritual warfare. A novice or immature revitalizer will likely make the situation worse for the church involved and cause himself to become bankrupted spiritually. The disciplines in Personal Spiritual Care include daily devotion, prayer, evangelism, worship, and silence/meditation. The revitalizer is foremost a believer, called to ministry and therefore must engage in lifetime of sanctification for oneself.

Nominal Christianity isn’t going to cut it in dealing with changing environments and people who are set in their ways and embracing the status Quo. Yes, we all know that Jesus will build His Church and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it. Recently the media has made sure that any leader/pastor who has failed morally is brought to public attention. If there isn’t a continual pursuit of holiness on the part of any believer, especially concerning ministry leaders – history has proven that failure is a very real possibility; i.e. King David and Bathsheba. In King David’s fall, he relaxed his posture or let down his guard. When he should have been leading in battle against the enemy – He stayed in Jerusalem and the Enemy defeated him from a house top!

Self-evaluation (To thy own self be true) reflects the necessity to view our spiritual life with an outside perspective. If someone were to look at our spiritual life and conduct – would they see a believer under the power of the Holy Spirit? We are commanded to Walk in the Spirit and we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. Additionally, Romans 12:3 is sobering advice – for one to think more highly of themselves than they ought; for it is God who had distributed to each one of us the measure of grace.

Humility is the next discipline. A revitalizer must be on guard for his spiritual life and the attack of the enemy. These boil down to not becoming bigger than the work of revitalization. What I mean by this

is being called Church revitalization isn’t necessarily church revitalization.

The revitalizer must incorporate another discipline as they read – that of Discernment. It is not my intention to be critical of what others have been led to write on the revitalization subject, but a personal discipline I have had to hone is to read with objective eyes. A revitalizer must have a discerning spirit, and ask the questions as he reads – “is this from God” and “does this address revitalization or been adapted from another subject to relate to revitalization work?”

This is important because advocating a principle or process that has not been tested by the Word of God and the Holy Spirit can be a disguised work of Man. is a revitalizer cannot allow himself to think he is the one who has caused the success or turnaround of the church. Again, we have been painfully reminded of what happens when someone takes the success as their doing and not the work of the Holy Spirit. Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.

Accountability is another personal discipline that needs to be fully incorporated into a revitalizers life.

No one should do ministry in a vacuum. Everything a revitalizer does will be scrutinized. Don’t give the appearance of impropriety in the work we do. People are suspicious enough already about our motives for changing their church. This leads me to building relationships of accountability through Mentoring and Coaching. I have built into my life a Paul, a Barnabas and a Timothy. I need all three of these people. Paul will keep me on track with the ministry and mentor me in objective ways. The Barnabas is my encourager. We all need someone as out cheerleader; that person we can confide in and vent to when things go chaotic. The final person is the Timothy. The person to whom we pass on what God has taught us in ministry and revitalization work. Paul admonished young Timothy to do this very thing in 2 Timothy 2:2. A revitalizer must know that we serve at the pleasure of our Lord Jesus and that we serve for a season.

Another personal discipline I have maintained is continuing to hone the skills and knowledge from God with others who are doing the work of revitalization. Many articles, forums and books are being written today on the topic of revitalization. A revitalizer must be well read. This coincides with the above mentioned personal spiritual care. Much like Church Planting, Church revitalization has become a buzz word in ministry. The problem of declining and dying churches has reached an epidemic level and captured the attention of many. While it is good that there is recognition of the gravity of the problem, there is the existence of misnomer. Everything that

Two other disciplines are necessary for long term revitalization – Patience and Active Involvement in a revitalization scenario. Patience should be self-explanatory, but so often we get in a hurry for change.

I compare revitalization to a marathon instead of a sprint. Revitalization just takes time. The other discipline, Active involvement, is required because a Revitalizer can quickly become a tactician rather than an actual revitalizer. All revitalizers need on-going experience in revitalization ministry. One thing I have learned for certain is that classroom theory doesn’t always work in application!

The last personal discipline I have had to incorporate into my life is the On-going Dependency of God. No flesh will be glorified. If the Lord doesn’t build the house, the laborers work in vain, and the watchman is wasting his time. It is His church, His work, and His desire that will take His power to be accomplished.

The Revitalizer is an instrument God uses to accomplish His work in the Church. Let’s rely on the power of God not models and methods to revitalize the Bride of Christ.

Jim Grant is the Senior Pastor of Heartland Baptist Church in Alton, Illinois. He is a veteran with 25 years of service in the Air Force.

His extensive travels, while in the military, allowed him the unique ability to have served in the full spectrum of churches, styles, and health. Jim is also the Gateway Baptist Association Revitalization Team Leader. Visit PreachBetweenTheLines.com for more information!

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What Lessons Can We Learn from the Giant Redwoods?

By Darwin Meighan A couple of summers ago, Linda and I spent a few days along the northern coast of California. While in the area, we visited the Avenue of the Giants in Humboldt National State Park. As we walked several trails amongst the Redwoods, there were some things I noticed about these trees, from which we can glean many insightful and valuable lessons when it comes to leading revitalization and renewal in the church:

Stand

This is what Redwoods do. They stand. As pastors and church revitalizers, in our culture and among Christendom today, it is essential as men of God for us to stand and boldly preach the truth of God’s Word, while also applying it in our own lives and families. Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58). Consistent, biblical expository preaching and teaching, where the Word of God is being proclaimed cannot be underestimated when it comes to seeing God’s hand at work, changing and transforming lives, bringing about revitalization and renewal in your church.

Be Strongly Rooted

For trees, healthy roots matter. Roots are foundational. The redwoods roots are interconnected in community. Colossians 2:7 says of Christ followers, we’re to be “rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” One of the primary reasons many churches are either plateauing, declining or dying has

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been the result of weak and shallow discipleship efforts for too many years. God’s plan to turn around our churches must include an intentional plan of discipleship, building up a healthy, connected root system, for the purpose of strengthening the community of God’s people.

though scarred and wounded We Are Overcomers

Goose Pens are found in the base of some redwoods. It is an area of the tree which has been hollowed out by fire. The amazing thing is the top of the tree is still thriving. These openings (goose pens) are so large that, in earlier days, settlers in the West could corral their livestock in them, thus giving the goose pens their name. Many of you already know this. When you sign up for ministry and follow God’s call, there are out of this world blessings which come your way as you serve the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. However, the truth is, you will also experience your share of scars and wounds. I once heard another pastor say, “Hurt people - hurt people.” Boy, was he ever right! Scars and wounds will happen as God uses your life to lead the much-needed revitalization process in the church you are serving.

Don’t be surprised when everything but the kitchen sink is thrown at you by church bullies as you faithfully strive to lead the turn around efforts in your church. Jesus said we would have difficulties in life, but he also has given us this promise, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.

In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Longevity is Huge

The giant redwoods are a powerful symbol of longevity. They are trees which have stood the test of time, having persevered for hundreds and thousands of years. As a revitalizer for the Lord, as you lead the process of biblical revitalization and renewal, you must commit to it for the long haul. Personally, next month I am completing my 34th year of ministry. For the most part, God has given me solid, long tenures during many of those years serving the local church. I have discovered, as many other pastors have as well, longevity and perseverance matters in the process of building up and growing a healthy church.

Resist the Enemy

Redwoods have few natural enemies. Tannic acid makes them resistant to disease and insect infestation, and their thick, fibrous bark effectively resists fire. Like the Redwoods, we too have a great enemy who is looking to steal, kill and destroy. One of Satan’s favorite targets are God’s servant leaders, like yourself. But please remember: We serve the One who is greater than the one who is in this world. Perhaps the greatest opposition you will experience in your ministry is when you fully commit before God to following his call to lead the journey of revitalization in your church. The Bible says, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

Different Stages of Growth and Maturity is Normal

One of the things I also noticed, walking among the Redwoods, were trees of various sizes. Some were small and very young. Others were gigantic and were much older. And then there were others at various stages of growth in between.

Healthy churches are made up of people of all life stages and ages. Our weekend services and Sunday morning gatherings in many of our churches are comprised only of senior saints.

One of the signs of a revitalized church is that people of every generation, every age group and people of varying levels of spiritual maturity are present when the church gathers. If the demographics of your church and community support it, do everything you can under God’s leadership to build a multi-generational and multi-ethnic church in your approach to doing ministry and mission unto the Lord.

Become a Place of Shade and Rest

While in the Redwoods, I kept thinking how awesome it would be to put up a hammock in the middle of the great forest of trees. Or to break out a picnic lunch? Or, wow, what a quiet place to read? Or just to get away from it all? The Redwoods are a place of shade and rest. Question: What is your church doing to make sure your gatherings and ministries are creating environments of shade and rest for people who live every day in a chaotic and stressed out culture, workplace and world? The truth is, a revitalized church becomes a spiritual oasis for people who need much needed encouragement, shade and rest.

Reproduce through Multiplication

Year after year the forest lives on. Why? The secret is: redwoods reproduce. A valuable metric of a revitalized church is its transformation from being inward-focused, to becoming a body of believers who are continually reproducing and multiplying their efforts in the work of God’s Kingdom. For example, when God revitalizes a church, new small groups will be added regularly, a pipeline of leaders is developed, more campuses and new churches are started, revitalizing partnerships happen with other Bible-believing, evangelical churches, along with many other reproducing and multiplying efforts becoming a reality as God leads. Here’s the secret: Healthy churches reproduce and multiply.

Legacy Matters

The Redwood trees leave behind an amazing legacy. If these trees could talk, what stories they could tell. When all is said and done, what will be the God stories told of your life and ministry? God desires to use your life to influence and impact the generations of others who will come after you. The legacy of the Redwoods inspires in such a way, drawing people from all over the world who come to visit. Since her childhood, it had been a dream of my wife Linda’s, to see the Redwoods. A dream which now has become a reality. Pastor, there is nothing more inspiring and which will leave a greater legacy than to be used of God to lead your church in a turn around. God has placed this dream in your heart. Prayerfully, ask him to work through you and stay the course until revitalization, renewal and spiritual health becomes a reality.

The psalmist wrote, “Oh, the joys of those who delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season.

Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.”

(Psalm 1:2-3) God’s desire for your church in your unique ministry context, is to thrive. The word, thrive means to grow or develop successfully; to prosper and flourish; to progress toward or realize a goal despite or because of circumstances. May these lessons from the Redwoods be of help and encouragement, as you lead your church to become a more thriving body of believers as you carry out the Great Commission in your city, culture and world.

Darwin Meighan is currently serving as the Senior Pastor at First Southern Baptist Church of Buckeye, Arizona. The past five years, he has also been serving in the role of revitalization specialist and speaker at the local, state and national level. As a coach and practitioner, he encourages pastors and churches toward a biblical process of renewal and hope. You may reach him by email: darwinmeighan@gmail.com

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The Leadership Link…

Dream Big

By Michael Atherton About 350 years ago a shipload of travelers landed on the northeast coast of America. The first year they established a townsite. The next year they elected a town government. The third year the town government planned to build a road five miles westward into the wilderness. In the fourth year, the people tried to impeach their town government because they thought it was a waste of public funds to build a road five miles westward into a wilderness. Who needed to go there anyway?

Here were people who had the vision to see three thousand miles across an ocean and overcome great hardships to get there. But in just a few years they were not able to see even five miles out of town. They had lost their pioneering vision. With a clear vision of what we can become in Christ, no ocean of difficulty is too great. Without it, we rarely move beyond our current boundaries.

I find myself regularly thinking: I hope that is not me!

The Lord has not brought me to where I am so that I can begin to coast through the rest of my life without a dream. Think about the vineyard worker…he had a dream; he saw a different future.

Luke 13:6-9: Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘for three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and hav-

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en’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ “‘Sir’, the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”

Dreaming is tough. Why? Most of us like to play it safe.

We don’t rock the boat too much. We don’t get too excited about anything. That may come from having a laid-back personality or maybe you’ve just been socially conditioned to do life that way. Now, I understand that not every phase of this life is a call to arms or a rally to conquer the world. However, I cannot help but sense that far too often we settle for considerably less than what God has in mind for us.

If dreaming is tough, then dreaming BIG can be risky business. The bigger you dare to dream, the less happy you are with the status quo. The bigger your dream the greater your discontent with just floating through life. Big dreams make you NOT want to row, row, row your boat gently down the stream. Rather, dreaming big challenges us to take that boat and hit some white-water rapids…get the adrenalin pumping and go have an adventure of a lifetime! But dreaming big requires something of you.

Big dreaming requires forgetting your past Living in the future is tough. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it. But the fact of the matter is that

most of us would rather live in our past. We allow our past victories to validate us. We allow our past failures to define us. We allow our past hurts to control us.

All the while, living in our past will cloud our vision and compromise our discernment. The reason why so many have an inability to dream big is that their past is suppressing their outlook of the future.

God did not fail to afford you everything you need to be effective in accomplishing all that He has called you to. You may have squandered His resource, but He did not fail to provide it.

Remember the words of encouragement that Paul offered to the church in Philippi, “I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14). If you are going to be an effective leader, you cannot be held hostage by the past. Allow the past to teach you about the future, but don’t let the past dictate your future. Our God is in the business of using yesterday’s hurts and heartaches to propel us forward to experiencing tomorrow’s achievements and accomplishments.

There is a difference between a big dream and a big idea. A dream (vision) is a picture of what God wants to accomplish through His Church for His Kingdom’s purpose. Notice the progression; God’s picture, God’s Church, God’s Kingdom. When God reveals His plan to the leader, it is imperative the leader becomes laser-focused on accomplishing God’s plan. The problem with so many churches today is that leaders are chasing their man-made ideas at the expense of God’s vision.

Your ideas are not what is going to invigorate most of the people within the Church that you serve. The fact of the matter is that your ideas may not even get you excited. The church is not in need of another man-made idea. Man-made ideas don’t create a culture of follow through. We need fewer ideas and more God-given dreams. Your ideas may or may not get you up in the morning. God’s plan will motivate you far more. You will wake up every morning and sprint to the office to be a part of what God is doing. Receive God’s vision and work to follow it through to its completion!

Big dreaming requires big faith The author of Hebrews reminds us that faith is the “assurance of things hoped for, and the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Looking forward, into an uncertain future, requires one to live by faith. As a result, faith demands we accept challenges for which we may feel ill-equipped to face. Faith demands we tackle problems which we may feel uneducated to address. Faith demands we pursue opportunities which we may feel unqualified to achieve. Nevertheless, to face tomorrow’s challenges, problems, and opportunities, faith will prove to be the most important tool, if success is to be reached.

Big dreaming requires stewardship Good leaders are adequate stewards, but great leaders are great stewards. Great leaders understand how to steward their time, talents, energies, resources, etc.

When we think about stewardship, we most naturally make a bee-line to a discuss money. But stewardship is so much more than simply money. Stewardship is one’s ability to use all the resources God provides for His glory. Some leaders can’t dream big because they don’t have time. Some leaders can’t dream big because they don’t have energy. Some leaders can’t dream big because they have squandered their resources. If you are going to dream big, you must be a proven steward of all that God has provided. You see,

Big dreaming requires follow through

T.E. Lawrence once said, “All men dream but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds awake to the day to find it was all vanity.

But the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for the many act out their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible…”

What are you asking God for today? What is your dream for the future?

Dr. Michael Atherton has served as the Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of O’Fallon, O’Fallon, MO for 15 years. Leading a church in a church merger, he has learned firsthand the challenges of a revitalizer. Mike is the author of The Revitalized Church. Mike leads a Mentored Master of Divinity program at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary and is past President of the Colorado Baptist Convention.

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Planned Absences—the Sheep May Wander But They Will Grow Fonder—and You Can Avoid Burnout

By Joel Breidenbaugh A few months ago, I watched what may become my alltime favorite musical, The Greatest Showman. I have long enjoyed such classics as The Sound of Music, The Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables and more. But there’s something about The Greatest Showman which resonates with me as a preacher. Though it’s an unfair comparison, some people attend church for the “show” and to see how good the preacher is going to be. Taking center stage to declare the marvelous truths of God’s Word can be alluring to some, so much so they never want to take a week off. Moreover, we pastors know all-too-well, when the pastor is away, church members go play. We learn quickly if our people know we will be out on a Sunday, some of them will skip out on the assembly. They may even go listen to another preacher in town.

day, they will often either skip out on gathering with the church or they might attend a friend’s church.

You may resolve this issue by only taking a week off periodically, not announcing it so people won’t know. In a world of social media where we need to post things to stay relevant and influence others, people can easily pick up on our time away. Plus, there is great value to taking more than one week off in a row. Whether you take it off as an extended vacation or a mini-sabbatical, I will argue planned absences may cause the sheep to wander (momentarily) but they will also grow fonder of their pastor, and the pastor can avoid burnout.

Most Sheep Will Miss Their Shepherd

Most Sheep Love Their Shepherd Although they don’t always show it, most sheep love their shepherd. They prefer to listen to someone they love and trust than someone they don’t know or don’t know very well. If they learn their pastor is going to be out on a Sun-

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Many pastors fear they could lose members over this scenario, but it isn’t likely. Remember, they love you and trust you. They may listen to someone else to learn something, but they are not likely to stop attending your church just because you missed a couple of weeks. Even if someone does, as long as they are going to another Bible-teaching church, the kingdom of Christ isn’t negatively affected (I realize many pastors and churches become so focused on their own ministries they fail to see the much larger kingdom of Christ around them, but that’s another topic for another time). When you take time away and return, your sheep are will return to hear you, because they love you.

Whenever the pastor is gone, most church members will miss him, because they love him. So whenever you go away for a few weeks, they might miss attending church, but they will look forward to your return. Even though they may hear other preachers during that time, they will miss you, because you connect with them in ways other people do not. You have visited them in their homes or at work or while they were hospitalized. You have rejoiced with them at the birth of a child or grandchild and you have cried with them at the loss of a loved one. When you are gone, they will miss you and they will look forward to your return.

Shepherds Can Avoid Burnout Not only do the sheep love their shepherd and miss him

when he’s gone, allowing for a nice reunion upon his return, but shepherds also need a break from the sheep or they can get burned out and quit. The most common statistic I hear is “there are 1,500 pastors who leave the ministry every month due to burnout, moral failure or retirement.”

While that statistic never cites a reputable study, because it is far too high, there are still significant numbers of ministers leaving the ministry each year, often due to burnout.

LifeWay Research says there are about “250 ministers leaving the ministry each month.”

That is not good news, but it is better than we are led to believe. Still, a few thousand ministers will call it quits in ministry each year due to burnout. Some of that burnout could have been avoided with some planned time off, either by way of an extended vacation or a sabbatical. Such planned absences help the pastor in several ways:

ready to fly in at a moment’s notice to save the day. Pastors are not Jesus. Nor are they Superman. Churches and pastors need to be reminded of this truth.

•It Helps the Pastor Get Fed by Someone Else When the pastor takes time away with his family, one of the benefits is they get to attend another church to worship. The pastor can be open to the Lord while listening to another preacher deliver God’s Word. He can also get an idea or two for ministry and worship to incorporate in his own church.

Conclusion At the end of The Greatest Showman, P.T. Barnum realizes how coveting the lights and trying to follow his dreams (calling) led him further from his family and made him

“Most pastors have less time at home than average occupations, because pastors are often on-call 24/7...”

•It Helps the Pastor and His Family Most pastors have less time at home than average occupations, because pastors are often on-call 24/7 and have to make home visits when people are actually at home. When a planned absence is taken, the pastor gets to spend some quality time with his spouse and children. Having a few days of un-interrupted time with family can help rejuvenate a minister to keep going. It can also remind the family that they, too, are important to him.

•It Helps the Pastor to Share the Load Let’s face it: the work of the ministry is a heavy burden.

That’s why it isn’t for the weak of heart or thin-skinned.

When the pastor takes time off, he is able to depend on others to shoulder some of the load. He may depend on other staff members, lay preachers in the congregation or itinerant preachers in the community. They can deliver a timely message from the Lord to encourage the congregation and keep the pastor from having to be back for Sunday.

•It Helps the Church to Know the Pastor Isn’t Superman As wrong as it is, pastors get placed on pedestals. Some church members look at the pastor as Superman, always

want to give up. When he listened to some sound advice, he started fresh and focused on more time with his family.

His name has lived on with the circus for 150 years.

As a follower of Jesus, incorporating planned absences from time to time can help you and your own family.

Though they may not realize it right away, your church will benefit from you taking time off and giving them your best when you return. Your faithfulness to the Lord will probably not result in any long-term remembrances of you, but the lives you influence won’t simply live on for 150 years.

As followers of Jesus, they will live on for eternity. May God grant it for His glory and for the good of His people!

Joel Breidenbaugh is the Lead Pastor of Gospel Centered Church in Apopka, FL. He also teaches about preaching for Liberty University School of Divinity. You can follow him on Twitter @DrJoelB or view his teaching on Gospel Centered Church Apopka YouTube Channel.

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Little Wins Grow Big Vision

By Pete Tackett Antioch Church was a church with a long history of specific coordinated outreach events designed to make the community aware of their presence and meet needs. A few of the creative ministries and events they had done through the years include a community wide Judgment House, maintaining a thriving student ministry, building and operating a recreation center, hosting a basketball league for hundreds of people, taking family mission trips, hosting an exciting VBS, and having an organized outreach ministry.

Somewhere along the way, something happened. One by one, each of those vibrant ministries simply went away as one after another, key leaders left or died. There was never a day when the church voted to quit doing them. They just simply died. Not just these, but there were dozens more I did not mention over the past 40 years. What had once been a purposeful, community-engaging church simply vanished.

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end, I would point to Antioch and the other two churches on our street and ask what they could tell me about each. 31 people answered the door that day and 19 of them said in one way or another, they thought Antioch no longer met on Sundays. Now, to be a little defensive, it is only fair to note that they had a recent pastor that did not keep office hours, and when they met on Sunday, there were so few of them that they all parked in the lower lot invisible to the road. Regardless of the reason, if 19 of 31 people on your street think you are out of business, you are in trouble.

To see how much they had disconnected from the community around them, you need to know about a trip I took down Antioch Road shortly after returning as transitional pastor. I knocked on every door on Antioch Road in one day and did a front porch interview without telling those who responded who I was.

It was early in the process but I knew we somehow had to re-engage the community if we were to stop the bleeding. Finding out they were planning a “trunk or treat” for the small AWANA ministry that was still functioning, I suggested they beef it up, do away with their Sunday night worship service that week so everyone could decorate a car, and have a community-wide trunk or treat event. As you might imagine, there was some push-back, but not what you would imagine. No one complained about the “Devil’s holiday” or giving up Sunday night worship. The universal response from what was predominately an older crowd was fear. Could they do it? Would anyone come? Would they be able to interact with people they had never met?

I told them I had moved into the neighborhood and wanted to ask a few questions. Most were about where they shopped, where they would recommend to do business, what radio station they listened to, etc. At the

Though they were fearful, they were willing to be led.

They brought candy for several weeks and decorated their cars and filled the parking lot that Sunday night and 120 people from the community and our AWANA

program showed up. It was what we began to refer to as one of many “little wins” along the way that God used to show them He was not finished with them yet. Every year since, the number of community participants has increased.

Later I discovered that somewhere along the way, mission giving had been pared back due to decreasing offerings and the need to pay existing staff and local expenses. In 2008, they had promoted and received the annual Christmas mission offering with a goal of $2,800 and took in $1,700. In 2009, it was not mentioned. In essence, without taking a formal vote, Antioch had simply quit being a mission-giving church. We needed to be reminded we were part of a bigger picture of God’s redemptive mission.

Our re-energized mission team took up the challenge of promoting the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions. They set a goal of $2,800, which was the last goal they had two years earlier even though they did not meet it. They called the church to prayer; asked every family to participate in some way; rallied the small children and youth groups to participate; and listened to weekly preaching on missions. When the money was counted, the church had given over $5,000. It became another “little win.” Each year since, that offering has increased, with this year’s giving topping $35,000. Along the way, building on that little win, the church has gradually grown its budgeted mission giving to 14% of our undesignated receipts.

One more example would be the Love Loud event we tackled the following July. By then, we were convinced God had a future filled with hope planned for Antioch and we wanted to let the community know we were serious about meeting needs. People were beginning to believe again that Antioch could be used to do great things so it was no real surprise that people of every age group helped us to minister to over 400 people from our community with groceries, clothes, haircuts, and school supplies as their kids returned to school at the end of summer. When it was over, I made a comment about another “little win” and some of my exhausted folks quickly let me know they considered this a big win. Either way, it illustrates the point.

At each step of the journey, we worked hard to celebrate these little wins. We live in the communication age that makes it easy to tell the story of the victories God gives you. We made sure to have a photographer at each event or activity or someone with a small movie camera to chronicle the ministry and results. Almost every church has a screen and projector and a member that likes putting together slide shows. We did not have money but we had volunteers and we used them to tell the story of each win, which was a win in itself. Be sure to make time in worship events to celebrate the wins so that those who worked can feel affirmed and those who did not will be caught up in the excitement next time.

“If you allow the paralysis

of analysis to keep you from doing anything until you are ready to do everything, the church will remain inert and ineffective.”

Not all dead ministries can be resurrected. In fact, I am convinced that most should not. However, one ministry that became an important comeback story at Antioch was a ministry to homeless families called Family Promise. While the church had already begun to stabilize and move forward again, we were not finished with our vision team process when a volunteer stepped forward to lead that ministry. Trusting this was God’s will, we signed up to host homeless families with children in our building quarterly. Four years later, we are still involved and there are twenty-five people attending that we first met when they were homeless and sleeping in our building for a week. It is messy work, but most of us would point back to that decision as one of the “little wins” along the road to spiritual health.

If you allow the paralysis of analysis to keep you from doing anything until you are ready to do everything, the church will remain inert and ineffective. One of the most important lessons I learned is get them moving and get some little wins under your belt!

Pete Tackett is Lead Pastor of Antioch Baptist Church in Johnson City, Tennessee, and a Pastor Connector for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board. He regularly partners with churches and pastors engaging in revitalization. He is the author of re.Vital.ize: Lessons Learned in a Recovering Church.

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Don’t Let Social Media Derail Revitalization

By Rodney Harrison Levi Charles Reardon, wanted for theft and forgery, was so taken by his wanted poster on the Great Falls/Cascade County Crimestoppers Facebook page that he “liked” it. He was arrested a few weeks later.

We chuckle at the thought of a criminal being caught by an imprudent act on Facebook, but the potential risks of social media for the church are no laughing matter. Imagine several years of revitalization efforts coming undone over one ill-advised post or blog? Sadly, such occurrences are becoming more common as social media usage in the church advances faster than social media policies.

Technology has changed almost every aspect of ministry.

Smart phones and watches are common place in the church and home. Even our car is equipped to read emails and text messages as they arrive. While these can be wonderful tools to communicate our message with speed and power to our congregation, there is a dark side to social media. Pastors may struggle to complete sermons while spending hours composing a blog or post for Facebook. Staff find themselves bringing home work at night after spending several hours putting out fires caused by a comment posted by a youth group member or disgruntled parent on Twitter or Instagram.

Studies are pointing to the negative impact of social media on marriages, families and addictions. I have observed more than one pastor who believed his phone was buzzing (but was not),

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as they live in anticipation of the next call. I have experienced family time interrupted by a text alert. It is no wonder that “Smart phone fatigue” is at an all time high and even the secular media is advocating a social media fast. Extensive social media use has even been linked to an increase in divorce rates. Sadly, this does not surprise me as I know of two church couples whose marriages collapsed due to social media. That is why divorce attorney Ken Peck provides five strategies to reduce the chance that social media will ruin a marriage: •Set up one social media account that you use jointly with your spouse. Combining your accounts could prevent a lot of conflict and jealousy.

•Share passwords with your spouse for every social media site you use. If you have nothing to hide, don’t hide it. If there is trust established between you and your partner, it’s likely that the passwords will never be used.

•Avoid lengthy communications with others on social media sites. Social media is great for keeping in touch and quick communication — it’s the more intimate conversations that are detrimental to marriages.

•Refrain from complaining about your spouse or ex-spouse on social media. This can lead to a lot of trouble, especially if you and your spouse have already decided on a divorce. Any evidence that is found on a public social media profile can be used against you [in] divorce court.

•Use social media less. If you’re more inclined to talk to your

Facebook friends than your spouse, who might be sitting in the room with you, it may be time for both of you to sit down and talk about your marriage and how you can improve it.

The drawbacks of social media do not end with marriage issues.

Nor do these risks mean new technologies should be shunned.

In fact, many of the great revitalizers used new technology to grow their ministry. Charles H. Spurgeon embraced the new technology of the modern post with an associated addresses for every household by writing nearly 50 letters each day throughout his ministry. A hundred years later, John Snyder grew Sun Valley Community Church by nearly 300 people in one year through the emerging technology of telemarketing using Norm Whan’s “The Phone’s For You!” In the early 2000s, Steve Sjogren pioneered the use of email and text messaging to connect with leaders and attendees alike. At one point, Sjogren and every member of his staff were expected to engage in 30 contacts per day as a means of connecting with attenders, leaders and prospects. This use of technology allowed Sjogran to successfully establish congregations in historically resilient areas including Baltimore, Maryland and Oslo, Norway. In ways similar to these earlier technologies, social media has unlocked evangelism and discipleship possibilities that previous generations could not comprehend. Pastor and author Jeff Klick notes that through media networks, Christians from all over the globe can connect in an instant. Isolated pastors can find many support groups and shut-ins have access to unlimited teaching and worship events. I have experienced the benefits of social media first hand, communicating in real-time with a congregation in rural Missouri from halfway around the world.

The way to keep your ministry and leaders out of trouble is to address the social media issue sooner than later. Questions that should drive the conversation include those relating to how much time staff should invest in social media while at work, how personal accounts can impact church and home, and how to reduce the liability risks, be they relational or legal. The list of questions to be asked is growing and seemingly endless.

Some churches should explore adding Cyber Liability Insurance to their church policy. This is a wise investment if the church or pastor maintains a blog, website, or makes their worship services available on the Internet. In addition, discussing expectations with staff and volunteers is becoming an important aspect of onboarding as our churches reach out beyond the brick and mortar into cyberspace. Social Media is a great tool if used properly, however, like any other tool, if wielded improperly, pain, damage, and lawsuits can follow. With the advent of the Internet, social media has become a normal part of our lives.

FaceBook, Twitter, Tumblr and more are visited by pastors, staff and members multiple times a day. To be sure, there are still a few holdouts, but in most churches the majority of members use social media. Those who speak for the church, including pastors, staff, and ministry leaders, need to consider what they post in social media. The illusion that electronic communications are private and no one would ever read or take offense at a personal post should have been dispelled by now. Although it can be argued that a distinction between personal and professional social media exists, those lines are blurred. A pastor who

writes a blog or makes a Facebook post that reveals something discovered during an informal counseling session could be sued. Reputations can be destroyed in a moment, and pictures, prayer requests and video, can go viral instantly.

Therefore, we must be wise. This is where a well thought out social media policy will help. If your church has a website, the pastor has a blog or you broadcast sermons, you need a media policy. There are multiple sites that will let you see what other have put together regarding social media guidelines. Here are some links that Jeff Klick put together and are worth exploring as you develop a policy that meets the needs of your church and staff: http://socialmediagovernance.com/policies/ - A listing of policies by well known organizations. http://justinwise.net/social-media-policies-churches-ministries Another large listing of social media policies broken down by denominations. Provides a template for developing a social media policy. http://pastors.com/the-ultimate-list-of-social-media-policies-for-churches-ministries/ - Similar to the above.

Spending a little time on these sites should trigger ideas regarding what should be included in church and personal media policy. I would add the following insights: 1. Never post anything online when you are upset. Don’t be like Ahasuerus and Haman who made knee-jerk decisions in moments of anger (see Esther 1:12; 3:5) 2. Be selective on which “push notifications” you use…or use none at all.

3. Get alerts over email rather than through your phone. This means you are already sitting down when reading posts.

4. Use a social media timer, such as LeechBlock, StayFocused or TomatoTimer. Your family and ministry will benefit!

5. Delete accounts that raise your blood pressure.

Just as Charles Spurgeon used the latest technology to rebuild New Park Street Chapel into the internationally renowned Metropolitan Tabernacle, pastors today can, and should, use technology to help the church fulfill its mission. Nevertheless, social media should never be the tail that wags the dog.

Dr. Rodney Harrison provides over-

sight to Midwestern’s doctoral programs, extensions, online programs and accreditation. He came to Midwestern following a fruitful ministry in church planting and missions in California, the Dakotas, and Minnesota.

Prior to coming to Midwestern, he was New Church Extension Associate for the California Southern Baptist Convention. Rodney is the author of four books and has written material for LifeWay Christian Resources, The Revitalizer, and several academic journals.

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By J. David Jackson My wife has recently been working her way through the accumulated possessions of her parents, who are attempting to move to a smaller home for their latter years of life. On many occasions, she has felt the need to tell me how much stuff they own that is of little or no (current) value. Going through it has been overwhelming for her, but more significantly, it has been paralyzing for them.

My in-laws can’t even start dealing with the collection of things themselves; whether it’s sentimental value or not knowing where to start, they just ignore it and hope it goes away.

But it doesn’t go away. And if they don’t control the stuff, it will control them.

Churches are hoarders too. They collect and accumulate things over the years. Possessions are treated as relics. Experiences are sacrosanct. Traditions are treated as though they were written in God’s Word. And programs have been given reverential status simply because grandparents used them.

Churches collect these things and cling to them tightly.

They add them to their calendar and their budget. Over time, the clutter becomes like sacred cows that complicate, confuse, and even paralyze the church into dormant living. And dormant living inevitably leads to atrophy and decline.

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It complicates church life by providing too many choices for the mind and too many allegiances for the heart.

It confuses the church about its mission and reason for existence, distracting the people and causing them to lose focus on what’s most important.

It paralyzes the church into inactivity at it’s worst, or wrong activity at best. It saps the church of its strength, since its energy is spent on just holding on to these relics.

When individuals do this, we say they have a disorder, they are unhealthy, and need help. Something has gone wrong, and it’s now out of control. Without addressing the problem, they will spiral into deeper difficulties that signal trouble.

Revitalized churches acknowledge that along the way someone had to make some hard, courageous decisions about all this stuff in the church’s life. They had to confront the dragon that had enslaved them, and kept them from living out their purpose for God. Leaders, who likely sacrificed a lot and endured many scars, had to fight to free them from the shackles of clutter that had subjugated them for too long.

In 2004, I confronted a church in the maniacal grips of clutter. They found themselves half the size they were

previously, due to many things (including the clutter, in my opinion), and programs gone wild. The years had birthed a Christian school through their efforts that now dominated their schedule and their hearts. Their budget was locked up in facilities management and the aforementioned programs that left them 0.4% for reaching out and serving their community! They did almost nothing, apart from Sunday worship and the school.

Jesus made comments about churches like this when he spoke to the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2. A significant church with a storied history and pristine reputation, it had become dulled and distant with their God. “But I have this against you: you have abandoned the love you had at first,” our Lord said to them (2:4, CSB). Had clutter and routine cooled their hearts and made it harder to see and hear God? I’m inclined to think so.

What are the steps to getting a church like this back on track? Jesus continues, “Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first.” (2:5) All three of these statements are of great import to us here.

First, Jesus says the church must remember how far they have fallen. This command is to help the church recognize how far the clutter of their existence had distanced their hearts from God. The distance they felt was the antithesis of what Christ wanted them to experience. The idolatry of things and experiences had stolen their hearts.

Second, they are told to repent. The word metanoia, of course, means to “change your mind” (literally). But in reality, it reflects so much more. It indicates that the entity has already changed from where it was previously, and thus, needs to return. It is a lifestyle word. In other words, Jesus is rebuking the church for their love wandering away in the first place, even as he calls them to return. Change is required to get back to where Jesus calls the church to be.

Finally, Christ commands them to do the things they did at first. As a former church planter, I know all about what churches do at the beginning. The work is all about relationships with people and evangelism that leads to disciple-making. When new churches try to do more or become what I call a “full service” church with something for everyone, they dilute their impact and minimize their strengths.

Couple these three things together and the resulting conclusion is that churches can lose their first love by adding things they didn’t do at first, or in the early days. Complexity breeds apathy. Love is lost to Christ because it has been re-appropriated to something else: our traditions, our routines, our experiences, our places, our programs.

If you are a pastor or a church leader and you are seeking to lead your church in revitalization, then let me recommend the following to move the church back toward vitality: First, acknowledge as Jesus indicates that this is a spiritual problem that can’t be resolved apart from repentance.

Though we live in a material world, it is ultimately spiritual in nature. It is idolatry when we replace God with anything else, including “creature comforts” and “sacred cows.” This is the most important “change” that must take place (Matt.

6:33).

Second, get back to the basics. Build Christlike relationships with disenfranchised (lost, unchurched, marginalized) people. Create opportunities as a church for relationship building to take place among your people. Some readers will immediately trivialize this step and say this is not spiritual enough. Let me respond by saying most evangelism writers today encourage us to count spiritual conversations, rather than conversions. But conversations can’t take place unless church attendees are encouraged to build relationships and maximize the strength or trust, respect, and credibility that follow when a relationship is genuine. After all, the longer one is a Christian the fewer non-Christian friends he or she typically has. So, relationship building is not a luxury, it’s a necessity.

Also, focus your church back on evangelism that leads to disciple-making. Most church plants spend fifty percent of their budget in the first year on evangelism. Most older established churches don’t even spend five percent on it. No wonder there is a difference in impact! Churches that are serious about revitalization will have to take the necessary steps to move the church back toward an outward-focused ministry of the Gospel. For 99% of established churches, it is not realistic to aim for a fifty percent threshold in evangelism dollars. So, start by moving the needle toward ten percent. Watch the difference it makes!

Churches that take control of the clutter of their lives will find a new lease on life. They will find a forgotten freedom in serving God that will bring new energy and excitement to their existence. And most important of all, they will rediscover their first love, Jesus Christ, in a way that will bring joy and meaning to all they do.

J. David Jackson serves in New England and is author of the book ReNEW: Traveling the Forgotten Path, which elaborates many of these principles in greater detail. It can be found at amazon.com. Jackson can be reached at drjdavidjackson@ gmail.com.

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Lessons Learned from Church Revitalization and Renewal

By Steve Sells

The Diagnosis is obvious and real. 90% of the Churches in North America are either plateaued or declining.

Southern Baptist Churches are not untouched by this sad phenomenon. This has been confirmed by such leaders as Mark Clifton of the North American Mission Board who said, “Ten to fifteen percent of Southern Baptist Churches are at risk of dying. Every year, about 900 churches close and lock their doors for the last time with 70% of them in growing neighborhoods.”

Some churches recognize, sooner than others, that if something is not done to stop the decline they will soon die. To stop the decline, a church must realize its present reality and its need for professional help if it is to become healthy again. It also needs pastoral leadership with a long-term commitment to the church. Positive changes do not happen suddenly and once the church has a Restoration Plan in place, it needs a determined Pastor or Coach to help the church in executing the plan.

Even though most pastors are “all in” for the plan, there are times when a pastor will engage a Revitalizer while knowing that he is not going to stay around for the long haul. He is already looking around for greener pastures.

I encountered this scenario several years ago when I agreed to help a church with less than 125 members.

The pastor had a reputation for short term pastorates.

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He was always looking for those greener pastures. I was reluctant to commit because the first module of Operation New Life, required intense preparation and a series of meetings before the program began and a long commitment after the program. Even though the pastor would not verbally commit, I agreed to the program and to coaching them, knowing their future was bleak if they didn’t get help. It was because I so wanted this church to succeed and become a vital and “Great Commission” Church again.

The first indication I had that I was facing a problem was the pastor’s reluctance to do the preparation that is required in advance of the program. He was constantly wanting to make changes in the preparatory steps in the process. He wanted to leave out such important steps as the Diagnostic Survey, perhaps fearing that it would shed light on him and his leadership. He further wanted to omit other steps. He finally consented to the program as planned because I told him that I could not agree to the changes.

The second red flag was his lack of trust in his congregation. He talked constantly about resigning because he didn’t believe that the effort would work. It was obvious that he had no real commitment to or connection with the congregation or the church community. He had

no real desire to see the church succeed in reaching its community. It seemed that he had engaged my services simply to buy time until he could find another church.

When I arrived, it quickly became obvious that he had been promoting to the congregation those changes that I had rejected. What he had promoted to the congregation bore little resemblance to what we had planned. He changed the title of the program and had posted a banner with a title of his choosing on it. He seemed unfazed when I confronted him about the damaging changes that he had made. Why? Because I knew that once I began to teach, that the congregation would realize that his plans and mine were different. So, I shared with them the correct title of the program and the emphasis that I would present.

The good news, however, is that the congregation became engaged. There was much dialogue and interest among the people and they asked many pertinent questions. Several people in the congregation mentioned to me the possibility of my returning for another program but the pastor did not seem excited at all about another. After the last session, when I had said my good-byes and thanked the people, I was driving out of the parking lot when the pastor flagged me down. After I stopped he handed me a manila envelope containing his resume and asked me to put his name before other churches. I was dumbfounded. I told him that I would not share his resume with other churches because his congregation had responded so well to the sessions and he should stay, love his people, and build on the foundation that had been laid. He didn’t make any comment and I was told that he moved on to another church four months later.

I was saddened by the situation, but I learned an invaluable lesson. Without the leadership and long-term commitment of the pastor, the church will not, most likely, move forward. The reality of it is that, some pastors, will never commit to a revitalization process. There are 3 reasons why I have discovered this as a Church Revitalizer.

Many pastors are afraid of Church Revitalization because they do not understand what it is all about. Some are afraid of the demands that will be made on them if they commit to the process. Some are afraid that they do not have the ability to carry out the process. Some are afraid of failure and yet others are afraid of their congregation.

They fear that if they upset their congregation by leading them into change they may run into conflict and perhaps be terminated. If a pastor is obsessed with making

everyone in the congregation happy, it can become a draining process. It is sad to say but many pastors spend too much time with critics, opposition, and conflict. All of this causes the pastor to spend and inordinate amount of time in fear about the future of his ministry and the church.

Sadly, some pastors are simply lazy. Church Revitalization is hard work. It takes commitment. The pastor must determine whether or not he is ready and committed to Church Revitalization. The pastor I used as an example in the beginning of this article is a real pastor. He is a perfect example of a pastor who is unwilling to pay the price to initiate a vital change in a needful congregation.

Tragically enough, some pastors just do not care. If the pastor has settled in. If the pastor is uncaring about the future of the Church …. One’s efforts will be futile. Many pastors lack real vision for the work. I heard an older pastor say, “Some pastors don’t care, and they don’t care that they don’t care.” That is a sad situation.

Conclusion: Any Church Revitalization process will require strong pastoral leadership and if the pastor is not committed to the revitalization of his church – it probably will not happen. Church Revitalization is time consuming. If the pastor is uncommitted to the Church’s future, he should not take the leadership role of the revitalization process. The pastor is the key to the church’s success and he is the most visible leader of the church.

Some mistakes bring hard lessons. However, this is one lesson that I, as a Church Revitalizer will never forget. It is a lesson that will help me never to make the same mistake again. As a result of this lesson, I go to great lengths to interview the pastor about his intentions and desires before I make any commitment. The lesson learned is simply this … the pastor is a major player in the revitalization of any local church. It is essential that the pastor be the predominate player in the process. If he is not committed, it will not happen.

Steve Sells is the president and CEO of Operation Transformation church revitalization ministry in Salisbury, North Carolina. Steve has served in ministry for 43 years in North Carolina and Georgia.

Dr. Sells is the co-author of the book With Greater Power. He seeks to help churches of all sizes experience new health and growth.

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Teaching to Change Lives

By Fred Boone There are many different types of small groups but the most common group is the one that makes teaching the Bible a priority. This article is focused on the teaching goal of small groups. For hundreds of years small groups have gathered everywhere to study the Bible and the effectiveness of those groups have been limited by the ability of the leader to translate and communicate the message of the Bible. I would like to suggest a simple plan for approaching the Bible and teaching its message with the goal of “Teaching to Change Lives” which is the primary focus of Christian education.

I have used this outline for years to prepare my teachers to lead an effective small group. My acrostic H.E.A.R.T. was inspired by Howard Hendricks “The 7 Laws of the Teacher” which was a video series produced by Walk Thru the Bible Ministries. I pray the following outline will help you equip and inspire your small group leaders.

The five letters of the word heart will help you remember 5 key concepts of teaching and communicating the Word of God. HEART – Christian Education is about communicating the word of God from heart to heart not head to head. It must be an overflow from the teacher’s heart and not a desire to transfer information. The lesson should come from the teacher’s own experience as they study. In other words what has the lesson said

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to you personally? You must consider three key concepts: Character, Compassion, & Content. Also, you must understand the relationship between teaching and learning. Teaching is causing people to learn and learning is essentially producing change. In order to effect change you must know your students. It is impossible to meet needs unless you know them. Then you must earn the right to be heard. Credibility always precedes communication.

Education According to Jesus (Matt. 28:18-20) the “aim” or goal of Christian Education is “Life Change”. You must ask the question of how will you accomplish it? Will the teaching be teacher centered or student centered. Lawrence O. Richards, in his book “Creative Bible Teaching” suggested four elements of a Life Changing lesson.

1. Hook – prepares the learner to hear the word of God. It could be an illustration or object lesson. It could be anything that would grab the learner’s attention to anticipate what will take place as you explore the passage of scripture.

2. Book – the next step is to read the passage and share some basic commentary on the passage.

3. Look – look at the implications of the text. Here consider questions about the text and look at the background and its implications for the original readers and your class today.

4. Took – what are the personal outcomes that impact the learner. This step directs the student to what they will take away from the lesson and apply to their daily life. This step is a critical step in lesson planning but is often missed by most teachers. I tell my teachers that must ask this question of their teaching: “So what”?

Will this lesson make a difference in my student’s life?

These steps give you a simple and systematic process for planning your lesson.

Activity Maximum learning comes from maximum involvement of the learner. The teacher would be wise to consider an old Chinese proverb: I hear, and I forget. I see, and I remember. I do, and I understand. A core principle of disciple making is allowing the disciple to try doing things for themselves. If the teacher does all the talking you can cover more material but the outcome is the students know less. Here are some interesting statistics about remembering. When the student is hearing only they will remember 10%. When the student has hearing and seeing they will remember 50%.

When you add doing to hearing and seeing the memory goes to 90%. As the student is more engaged the potential for teaching to change lives grows exponentially. This portion of the teaching takes advanced planning and the potential for making this possible is increased when the teacher embraces the next step in the process.

Readiness The teacher’s process of preparing to teach the lesson is key to presenting a lesson that comes from the heart and is delivered with passion. Lesson preparation should be a week-long process. The effective teacher begins their preparation on Sunday night by reading the text they will be teaching the next Sunday.

I suggest that teachers should read the text everyday as part of their Quiet-time. Then by Wednesday as you are meditating on the text you begin writing down everything that comes to mind. You might think of other passages you have read that is related or lesson or sermon that thoughts and insights to the passage. There may be Illustrations or object lessons that you remem-

ber. You will be surprised at what the Lord will reveal to you before you ever look at any study resources. If you are teaching a new book of the Bible you will want to get an understanding of the purpose of the book and who was the author. Also you need to know who where the original readers and what is the general outline of the book. Then look up in a Bible dictionary any names or words you do not understand. Now read lesson resources and commentaries on the text and make notes. Develop a basic outline of the text from your written notes. You must put your lesson in one sentence. This will be your aim. Now write out the lesson, putting thoughts, quotes, etc. in an outline form.

Only take this outline with you when go to teach the lesson. Don’t teach from a leader guide or a book. The only book you should be using is the Bible and an outline for a teaching guide. Your teaching should come from the overflow of your week of preparation.

Teaching Methods There five categories of teaching methods: Teacher to Student, Student to Teacher, Two-way Communication, Group Activities, and Outside the Class. Each week you should consider a different category. There are many different methods. Some of the most common are lecture, discussion, small group, debate, and outside assignments. The worst method is the one you use most often. You should strive for variety. Your goal is to avoid getting into a rut. You want your students to be excited about coming and anticipating what will happen each week in class.

The HEART of Teaching gives you a simple but concise way to equip your Small Group or Sunday School teachers to teach with heart and passion with the goal of impacting students with “Life Changing” Bible study that could change their life for eternity. There is no greater work than teaching the word of God. Remind your teachers that they dealing with only two things that are eternal. They are teaching the eternal word of God to the eternal souls of man. What a great honor and privilege.

Fred Boone is the Executive Pastor and LIFE Groups Pastor of First Baptist Church of Mount Dora, Florida.

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WHY SMALL GROUPS?

From the Old Testament to the New Testament small groups are used in very significant ways.

Small Groups have always been part of God’s plan to develop and grow believers. In modern times from Sunday School to the contemporary Small Group movement the churches that embraced small groups in a significant way experienced the most growth in evangelism and discipleship. Small Groups should be a fundamental strategy for every church that seeks to be a Biblically complete church.

OUR VISION – Why We Exist

To see every church develop significant small groups that are healthy and growing.

OUR MISSION – What We Do We come to the church and partner with the pastor and staff to evaluate the current condition of their Small Group Ministry and then develop a custom plan to renovate and reinvigorate their groups. Our plan includes developing comprehensive goals and strategies.

We also provide training and custom resources for the churches we serve.

www.DynamicSmallGroups.org

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