The Church Revitalizer Magazine

January/Febuary 2015

Vol 1 Issue 2

THE CHURCHRevitalizer

“The only magazine dedicated to Church Revitalization.” ~ Tom Cheyney

“A Revitalization Retreat in Every Issue”

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RENOVATENational Church Revitalization Conference

November 2-4, 2015Orlando, FL

RenovateConference.orgAloma Church

Speakers Include

Bob WhiteelMichael AthertonEd StetzerMicah FriesPaul BordenNeil FranksRon SmithBruce RaleyLee KricherTerry RialsPaul Smith

RENOVATEThe Church RevitalizerSubscribe to our weekly blog post focused around the revitalization of Churches in North America.

The RENOVATERevitalization PodcastSubscribe to our weekly podcast focused around the revitalization of Churches in North America.To subscribe go to:renovateconference.org/resources

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FEATURES January / February | Vol 1, No 2

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38

THE PASTOR’S PERSONAL LIFE AND LEADERSHIP CAPACITY By Greg Kappas

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42

A PREACHING PLAN FOR GROWTHBy Joel R. Breidenbaugh

THE GREATEST CHALLENGE IN CHURCH REVITALIZATIONByJohn Kimball

32 BUILDING TRUST(Part 2)By Neal Franks2 Minute Pastor


THE SEVEN PILLARS OF CHURCH REVITALIZATION AND RENEWALBy Tom Cheyney

Follow RENOVATE National Church

Revitalization Conference

on social media via:

Facebook:RenovateConference

Twitter #RenovateConference

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE

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28

30

54

LESSONS FOR FIRST TIME REVITALIZ-ERS By Rodney Harrison

ELEVEN WAYS TO REVITALIZE THE FUTURE OF THE CHURCH By Ron Smith

THE LEADERSHIP LINK…By Michael Atherton

LAUNCHING LARGE OR REMAINING RELATIONAL By Mark Weible

10 Where does Church Revitalization Begin? By Jim Grant

18 “What’s In It for Me?” Christian Entitlement By Rob Myers

44 The Women’s Corner By Estelle Myers

48 First Aid for a Change Gone Bad By Bob Whitesel 58 Tribal Leadership & Church Revitalization by Kenneth Priest

60 “Danger Will Robinson!”: Dangerous Threats to the Church Revitalization Movemwnt By Terry Rials

62 FISH: The Objective for Fishers of Men By Rob Myers

BOOK REVIEWS 56 What’s Right with the Church, By Elmer Towns 57 Preparing for Change Reaction By Bob Whitesel

revitalizerLIBRARY

“The only magazine dedicated to Church Revitalization.”

Equipping local churches to make disciples, develop leaders,

and connect with their communities.

CCCC ChurCh DevelopmentCCCC ChurCh Development

Conservative Congregational Christian ConferenCe8941 Hwy 5 | Lake Elmo, MN 55042 | 651-739-1474 | www.ccccusa.com

www.ccccusa.com

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A Practical Guide to Leading Your Ministry Through the

Challenges of Administration!

“This is a must-have book placed on your study desk so you can learn from it daily.” Tom Cheyney — Renovate National Church Revitalization Conference

“Read these pages to your benefit and to the blessing of those you will serve.” Jim Draper — President Emeritus LifeWay

“Pastor Helmsmanship is chock-full of practical advice that every pastor needs.” Dr. Jason Allen — President, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

Available from Amazon in paperback and Kindle

Pastoral Helmsmanship is much more than a book about church administration: it is about effectively navigating

in the increasingly complex world of ministry

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Welcome to the the Church Revitalizer Magazine: A Church Revitaliztion Retreat in Every Issue!

After a year of having church members and revitalization pastors asking me would the Renovate Publishing Group consider publishibng a quarterly magazine exclusively on the subject of Church Revitalization and Renewal, we have launched a bi-monthly subscriber donation based magazine for the purpose of raising up the conversation regarding this critical need in the local church. Our goal every other month is to provide you with a Church Revitalization retreat in every issue. The need for a clearer understanding of revital-ization terms is vital.With the field of church revitalization and renewal expanding so quickly, here are a few of the key fundamental definitions to begin ones journey:

Absence of the Serendipitous Moment: The more a church is under stress the less it feels God’s presence! Do not hear me say that God abandons stuck churches, rather I believe the whirlwind, earthquake and conflagration of a church in turmoil makes it all the more difficult to perceive the still small voice of a holy God. The greater the anxiety, conflict, and unyielding stagnation in a congregation, the less the church experiences those serendipitous, coinciden-tal little miracles which seem to indicate the presence of the Holy Spirit alive and at work with one’s church.

Anxiety Shock Absorber: The leader who wants to bring about revitalization change in a congregation must become an anxiety shock absorber. A person with this quality can successfully resist the avalanche of anxiety which is bowling over everyone else within the fellowship. If you stay calm and demonstrate that you are not going to let the process of revitalization and renewal get derailed, it usually has a calming, quieting effect on the entire church. Stay connected, more is coming...

ChurchRevitalizer.Guru by Tom Cheyney

Volume 1, No. 2The Church Revitalizer

is published monthly byRenovate Publishing Group

1906 West Lee RoadOrlando, FL 32810

Email: ChurchRevitalizer.guru

PUBLISHERDr. Tom Cheyney

Associate PublisherMark Weible

Associate PublisherCirculation & Marketing

Linda Goans

Executive Editor &Brand Manager

Tom Cheyney

Magazine Designer & Format EditorGerald Brown

Executive Director of AdvertizingLinda Goans

Web Ad Traffic DirectorMark Weible

For subscription information contact this office at:www.churchrevitalizer.guru/subscriptions.

Subscriptions donatins are $30.00 per year for six issues,$52.00 for two years (12 issues).

Outside the U.S. add $10.00 per year prepaid.

Stock images from ISTOCK Photo or where otherwise noted.

© Copyright 2015Renovate Publishing Group

Dr. Tom Cheyney is the founder and directional leader of Renovate National Church Revitalization Conference and Executive Editor of the Church Revitalizer.


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ChurchRevitalizer.Guru by Tom Cheyney

Thirty-Eight ChurchRevitalization ModelsFor The Twenty First Century

Authored by

Tom CheyneyRenovate Publishing Group

ISBN-13:978-0990781608ISBN-10: 0990781607

List Price: $19.95

Purchase Online at: RenovateConference.org/Bookstore

While some church revitalizers see church revitalization models as mere fable, others see the validity of having examples and samples to study in the effort to get a glimpse of what God might be saying about how to bring church renewal to their present work! Regardless of the debate regarding myths for models or strategies for the revitalization churches, there appears to be at least six areas and thirty eight strategies that a church seeking re-newal could consider.

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The topic of Church Revitalization has been a subject of interest for several years now. Most people are familiar with Olsen’s American Church in Crisis often quoted statis-tic about plateaued, dying and dead churches. While the information from Olsen may be a little outdated, the question of what to do about the epidemic is still relevant for any-one in such a ministry position.

I have done enough research on the topic to discover that every denom-ination is struggling with how to stop the churches from closing their doors. I discovered there are mul-tiple reasons why a church will die; to include the location, past church history and leadership issues.

As a result of the emphasis given to the number of churches closing, various philosophies, approaches and tools have been develop in hopes of finding the root cause of the epidemic. I appreciate the high level of interest and energy given by so many includ-ing my own denomination to find a solution. Church Revitalization does not have an easy solution. There are too many variables to investigate and filter through to determine a “common cause” among the church-es. While there are no quick fixes or answers; when a church does find new life again the results are re-markable.

Some of the variables that must be taking into account before starting any church revitalization project include age of the church, age of the congregation, past church history (successes and failures), community demographics, (growing or declin-ing in population) and is current leadership capable of leading the process.

Often Church Revitalization enthu-siasts are eager to do the research, conduct community and church sur-veys and crunch the data in hopes of uncovering the hidden secret to turning around a failing church. In our current technological age a researcher can find just about any information to diagnosis a perceived churches condition. The conclusion may point to a problem that is geo-graphical as well as spiritually. Do not misunderstand me, there must be sufficient homework accom-plished before settling on a course of action. Life has taught me that one must be careful with statistical information alone. Church revitaliza-tion is not a one dimensional issue.

If a church is to begin a revitalization process, it is absolutely essential to know where to start. But even more important to know where the Church is headed. Church revital-ization inherently carries with it the idea that at some point the church now languishing was at some point successful and alive. Even having said that, the question comes to mind – what does it mean to have a successful past? If a church cannot identify a time when it was healthy and accomplishing Kingdom work; then it may need to start with a Strategic Planning Team to develop for the first time a clear vision or concept of what it means to be a New Testament church. Strategic Planning directions and guidelines are beyond the articles scope.

Church revitalization is about causing renewal within the life of redeemed people and the Churches current dilemma. Revitalization is not revival; it is more than revival. I have pastored four churches. I may not be an expert, but I have found

some steps that will help determine a successful church transformation.

First, every church is different; its context, its people and its particular ministry for the Kingdom of God. There have been enough attempts at reviving dying churches to pro-vide a plethora of books document-ing the success story.

Secondly, revitalization it is abso-lutely difficult work. While reading these stories, one quickly learns that it is a difficult process. As with any work within the church, one can expect opposition and discourage-ment along the way. Church revi-talization requires diplomacy and perseverance.

Thirdly, revitalization requires the right leader. Even though so many churches are experiencing warning signs of decline and death, not every pastor is a revitalizer.

Revitalization is as much about the pastor/leadership as it is about the overall church. There are churches that would rather die than change; there are also pastors that would rather change pastorates than embark on the struggles of chang-ing a church. Scripture is filled with examples of resistance to God’s will; in particular the nation of Israel. Of-ten a position of comfort is sought. This should not sound so strange; individuals and church acquiesce to a point of their comfort.

In a church situation where revital-ization is being considered; before all the research and studies are done, leadership must answer a question: are they the ones to at-tempt revitalization? This may sound like a dumb question. But in reality this must be the first investigative

Continued on page 16

Where Does Church Revitalization Begin? by Jim Grant

11“Without revelation people run wild.” Proverbs 29:18 HSCB

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CHALLENGING

ENCOURAGING

Lessons for the First Time Revitalizers by Rodney A. Harrison

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I was recently asked, “Are church revitalizers born or made.” The answer was simple, since the last time I checked, 100% of us were born. Although some of our seminaries are now training individuals through specialized degree programs in revitalization, most of us are thrust into the role by circumstance rather than in-tent. However a person comes to the ministry of revitalization, the following lessons are designed to help and encourage you on the journey of church revitalization.

It’s worse than it seems. Ac-cepting that the issues and chal-lenges you face are worse then they seem might sound cynical. One needs to understand from the beginning that it took years for the church to get to this point, and the process of decline has involved many persons and a variety of circumstances. Paul helped Timothy understand this truth in 2 Timothy 3: 10-13: You have followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love and endurance, along with the persecutions and sufferings that came to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra. What perse-cutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from them all. In fact, all those who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. Evil people and imposters will become worse, deceiving and being deceived. As you delve into the root causes of decline, apathy, conflict and the like, you will often find that there are “stories behind the story” that reveal additional problems. So,

how should the first time revital-izer respond to “it’s worse than it seems?” By giving thanks to God for everything, even the chal-lenges you will face. (Ephesians 5:20; Colossians 3:17; 1 Thessalo-nians 5:18).

Where does one start? The temptation is to always start with outreach and evangelism. How-ever, the correct starting place is dependent upon the health of the church. If the church is healthy, the starting place may be outreach and evangelism. Are members welcoming to newcomers and outsiders? Does the church have programs that visitors would want to experi-ence a second time? If you were not the pastor, would this be a church you and your family would readily join? If the answers to these questions are positive, the starting point should focus on growth, outreach, evangelism and leadership development. If the answer is no, the focus should be on addressing the issues. Inviting newcomers to an unhealthy church is like inviting neighbors to dinner when you have the flu.

Does the church have spiritu-al or administrative issues? It has been said never spiritualize administrative problems nor administrate spiritual problems. Most churches have issues and concerns in both areas. However, the answer for administrative problems is not always “let’s pray.” Administrative issues demand administrative responses, such

as “let’s ensure 100% of the offering is accounted for each week” or “let’s identify the top three priorities for spending this month.” Paul exhorted members of the church to “Pray without ceasing.” This implies prayer is a natural component of all we do in ministry. However, to spiritual-ize administrative issues creates frustration and does not address the issue. In the same way, devel-oping policies for spiritual issues, such as small groups that have become bees nests for gossip is not only unwise, it will come back to sting you! Take time to identify whether problems and issues are spiritual or administrative. If the problem is long-standing, the issue may manifest itself in both, with will necessitate dealing with the spiritual and administrative aspects of the problem.

Don’t do it alone. The answer to the question “how do you eat an elephant?” is often “one bite at a time.” I am not an expert on elephant decomposition, but I would predict that well before one person was done with an elephant, it would no longer be eatable. The best answer is “invite the community.” In the case of revitalization, that might include faithful laymen, pastors, the area director of missions or a denom-inational leader. Membership in a professional organization, such as the Society for Church Revital-ization and Renewal, will provide a community of nurture and support. Early in the revitalization process, identify and develop a team inside and outside of the

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When to know it is time to leave!So you think about leaving, but then you begin to feel guilty. Here is how you can respond to the frustration you feel:

• Pay attention to your yearnings. • Differentiate between leaving church and leaving God. • Differentiate between looking for more and nursing wounds. • Consider whether or not you’ve grown out of the church’s message.

Continued on Page 22

church that will support your re-vitalization efforts. Tom Cheyney notes that is usually takes 1000 days to turn a church around. Without a support team, most pastors will either quit, and leave the mess to someone else, or abandon the revitalization effort, joining previous leaders who gave up on God’s church.

Know where you are going. In Pastoral Helmsmanship: A Pastor’s Guide to Church Admin-istration, I tell the story of when a member of a growing church painted a baptismal mural with Proverbs 29:18 (Where there is no vision, the people perish—KJV). However, time and neglect caused the “W” to chip off, rend-ing the message, “here there is no vision, the people perish.” Eric Bargerhuff, in his book The Most Misused Verses in the Bible states, “Plain and simple, this verse is not talking about strategic planning.” However, I would argue the verse does speak of having clarity of God’s revelation, Knowing where you are going is vital for the first time and seasoned revitalizer. Exploring church documents, such as the Constitution and By-Laws, both past and present, along with previous attempts to clarify vision, purpose or mission (terms I am comfortable using somewhat interchangeably) is a wise expenditure of time. Unless the church is a restart, the vision will likely be contained, even if somewhat obscure, in these documents. Vision should speak to what will be, not what is now. Being able to articulate the vision is a simple sentence conveys con-fidence, clarity and conviction. As

you work on vision clarity, share your thoughts with your team members. As one of my men-tors taught me, once you have vision clarity, share the vision until it becomes a shared vision. Vision clarity takes time, so start early, otherwise, vision hijackers will seek to implant their vision in place of God’s vision for His church.

Consider a covenant with God. Given the realities of the task, consider making a commitment to the Lord to stay for three, five or seven years. One reality of ministry is that the good times are often overshadowed by the bad. Throwing in the towel is tempting when the deacons desert you, musicians are mad, group leaders are grumpy and leaders are lazy. I have found that the “greener pasture” opportuni-ties tend to arise when things are going poorly. By making a cov-enant, you are saying, “Leaving prematurely is not an option. Pe-riod” Sure, the congregation may “break the covenant,” but you will

remain faithful on your end, even during the hard times. At the end of the journey, faithfulness to God, not earthly success should be our goal.

Rodney Harrison is the Vice President for Institutional Effec-tiveness, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Rodney served in a fruitful ministry in church planting and mission service in California, the Dakotas and Minnesota. Prior to coming to Midwestern, he served as the New Church Extension Associate for California Southern Baptist Convention. Harrison is the author of two books on church planting and has written material for LifeWay Christian Resources and the North American Mission Board.

Where Does Church Revitalization Begin?Continued... by Jim Grant

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point. Long before thoughts of studies and demographic analysis is attempted; there has to be clear di-rection from the Lord Jesus that the leadership is called to the work of revitalization. Specifically, is the pas-tor the right person? This question cannot be easily answered. Accord-ing to Luke 14:28; before attempting a work, consider the cost before-hand. If the pastor/leadership is not willing to invest at least five to seven years towards the work, do not start. The work will go unfinished and the people will become further discour-aged, hindering any future work. Many reading this article now are trying to determine if they are called to revitalization. This is a pertinent question that must be asked with a peace and clear understanding from God. Word of caution: revitalization will not be like anything you have done before!

The bible character of Joshua is an example to many potential revitaliz-ers. There was much that Joshua had to consider about his new position as leader of Israel. As ministers of the Gospel, we are under obligation to the One who called us. Right now many pastors find themselves in less than the best of church health situations. Our faithfulness in the difficult times will be a reflection of God’s preparation of us for the task. Pastors, we are in difficult times. It is our watch and we must be found faithful.

Joshua had to reflect on what God had been doing in his life. Joshua was a valiant warrior. He had experi-enced great victories and witnessed the powerful presence of God. While he was part of the disappointing “committee’ that chose not to enter the Promised Land, he didn’t quit or give up. He stayed faithful for forty

years in the position of Captain of the Israeli army. Before Moses dies, he is anointed as heir apparent to lead Israel to the Promise Land. This is quite a change of positions, no longer is he the executor of the plan, he is the Vision Caster. Won-derful words of encouragement and challenge come from God to Joshua. (Joshua 1:1-9)

The leadership changed but the goal remained the same. Forty years in the Wilderness did not alter God’s goal. Israel was always supposed to inhabit the Promise Land. God still commands Churches to fulfill the Great Commission. Pastors and lead-ership will change, but God always remains the same. Those encourag-ing words from God “As I was with Moses, so I will be with You (Josh 1:5) are for us.

Joshua was given a task to do that had the outcome already deter-mined. The LORD said “I am giving this land to them.” (Josh 1:2) There would be fighting, but Joshua was told that no man would be able to stand against what God was doing. Joshua did not let the circumstances and past dictate the future obedi-ence and work of the Lord. We may all find ourselves from time to time in situations that seem impossible – but do not fret; God is still on His throne and we have been called to shepherd His Church. Three times in Joshua 1, Joshua is told “Be strong and courageous.” While it is imper-ative that churches and pastors remember what happened in the past, they cannot let it paralyze them. Now Joshua could have strug-gled in the shadows of Moses or he could accept the new role as “Valiant Leader.” Additionally, Joshua had fought many battles in the typical manner of warfare. Right from the

beginning, Joshua and the people had to trust in un-orthodox ways – God’s ways.

So where does Church revitalization begin? It begins with pastors. Before a pastor embarks on revitalization, he must look at himself. Leadership must switch from being caretak-ers to risk takers. There are many qualities that have been used to help identify if someone is a church revitalizer. God looks for only one – being a man after God’s our heart. God will build His Church. If God has called you to revitalization, do not look for another church. What I am trying to say is that churches revital-ization is difficult, but when God is in the Church the Church has a future. There are no easy answers, and no quick fixes. God called us to shep-herd His Church, so let’s model our own Good Shepherd and be willing to lay down our life for the sheep.

Jim Grant is senior Pastor at Heartland Baptist Church in Alton, Il-linois. He came to Heartland Baptist from Texas, where he served three

churches. He is an Air Force veteran, retiring with 25 years of service. His extensive travels while in the military allowed him the unique ability to have served in the full gambit of churches styles and health. He has a master of divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a Doctorate of Ministry degree from Midwestern Baptist Theological seminary with a concentration on Church Revitaliza-tion. He has been married to his wife for 39 years; they have two daughters and four grandchildren.

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Is there room for an enti-tlement mentality in the body of Christ?

A lot is said today about the “entitlement society.” There seems to be a growing number of people seeking the path of least resistance through life. The idea is to gain as much out of every situation while exerting the least effort required. Hard work, is now seen as, “not working smart”. The world is replete with all kinds of support verbiage to this end. We talk of the need for minimum wage and higher earnings for those who are working less and less.

That mentality has not just trick-led into the church, it’s rushing in. Even more concerning are the signs that this mentality is seeping into the leadership of the church as well. The most deadly words in the church are, “what’s in it for me?”

Christian leadership has come to a standstill as it is squeezed in between vacations, golf games and TV shows. At times, some pastors are not equipped and too often focusing on the main thing! Whole churches come to a stand-still around the game patterns of the NFL and their local teams. Christianity has become cheap-ened by modern concept of the sovereignty of God which denies the fact that God created man to work. There is a dignity to work;

there is a great feeling when you finish something that you put your heart into as well as your back. The Bible is very clear. There is work that we can do, and that we are to do; and there is work which only God can do. Render unto God that which is God’s.

Designed to Work

God designed us to work, yet in the fallen man our work has become our downfall in that it feeds our pride. From building towers of Babel to creating reli-gions to bypass God and reach into eternity, man has taken his creative image reflection and turned it into an idol in a cracked mirror.

There is no one who understands the fallen man, greater than God himself. We are too weak to save ourselves through our works, so God intervened in our lives amidst the weakness of our sin, by coming in the flesh and offer-ing himself to pay the price for our sins with his perfect blood.

What Can I do For God, Through Christ

It’s not about “what’s in it for us”… If you want that answer, then it is simply death. Howev-er, we weren’t designed for the glory of ourselves. Every person, in their hearts, knows that God is. And every person ultimately longs, or suffers in denying their

longing, for God. We weren’t designed to suffer but to be glori-fied, through Christ, and restored to the Father for eternity. In John 3:16, Jesus tells us that we must believe in Him in order to have eternal life. The first step in believing is turning to God, one asks: “But what does that require – how do I do that?” It involves repentance.

Repentance is turning away from self-rule and self-centered ways (SELF-FULL) to God rule in a Christ centered life (SELF-LESS).

Repentance is more than just looking at God’s face when he taps you on the shoulder. It’s more than just spinning around one time in looking into God’s eyes; it is turning 180° in your attitude, in your thought life, in your planning, and surrendering fully to the absolute control of God over your dismal life. Then Turning 180° towards your ‘work’ in Him to complete the good works He intended for us to do! (Ephesians 2:10) THAT’s the con-sistent foundation of 360°, Bibli-cal Christianity – die to self (Luke 9:23), turn to away from sin (your way), face God to get be renewed and receive His way (2 Corin-thians 5:17-20), and get back to work, by working out the Christ in you! (Philippians 2:12)

Continued on page 36

“What’s in it for me?” Christian Entitlement by Rob Myers

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Leadership Trumps Preaching! I have sat with many pastors who are dynamic preachers and they look me in the eye with concern and exhaustion. “Greg, I have prayed and preached my heart out…people respond to the messages but I just do not see them staying at our church. We cannot keep them. I know it is all about the Kingdom, but we cannot keep them here.”

In church revitalization, the sooner you grasp that leadership development is as important or even more important than preaching and teaching; you will have turned a corner toward church health. To establish healthy leaders in your church, things begin with Jesus and you. Do not train leaders to multiply leaders if you are not doing the same!Where do we begin? It all starts with a paradigm that initiates with 4 Phases:Reaching New People is the first circle and continues in that setting while living out these other 3 leader-ship truths. Training new converts, emerging leaders, new leaders and established leaders in a process of the second circle Training in the Basics of Christianity. As we Train in the Basics, we continue to live out the first circle Reach New People.

As we continue to Reach New People and Train them in the Basics of Christianity, we then move to the third circle Equip to Serve. We equip these leaders to serve Jesus Christ in light of their passions and gift mix. Finally we then Keep Reaching New People, while we then move them into Training in the Basics of the faith, Equipping them to Serve and then the fourth circle Mobilizing these leaders for Ministry.

Scores of pastoral leaders have stated to me that they are not gifted in evangelism and therefore they seek to hire or find a key leader who can do the work of an evangelist and even fulfill the function of Evan-gelist in Ephesians 4. That misses the point. Gift mix complement to your own endowment from the Lord never is an excuse for personally avoiding reaching out to unbelievers and believers who are not wor-shipping Jesus.

If we do not model Reaching New People in our own personal lives, we have limited our capacity of leader-ship and most importantly quenched the work of the Holy Spirit personally. Pulpit illustrations dating back to 5 years ago when you last saw someone come to

The Pastor’s Personal Life and Leadership Capacity by Greg Kappas

Jesus personally in your interaction is weak if not diluted at best. Looking at your pulpit ministry as the only way to do evangelism is simply cowardly. Praise God for the people who come to Jesus through your preaching and teaching ministry, but they can also be won to Christ by you at Starbucks, at Panera, and going to a movie theatre to relate to culture. Satu-rate yourself with the Biblical motif to Reach New People.

Remember, reaching the lost and those not walking with Christ, fulfills your ministry. “As for you, always be sober minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” 2 Timothy 4:5 Once people come to Jesus and are now regenerate, they cannot stay there of course. In fact, my long time mentor, Dr. Earl D. Radmacher who went to be with our Lord on December 8th of 2014 often stated “The Christian army has spiritual babes that need to be transitioned from infancy to the infantry.” We are in a spiritual war and we need to move these youngsters into soldiers.

While the movement takes place to Train these new people in the Basics, none of us can lose the passion and to be obedient to Reach New People. Fresh lakes stay healthy with new water.

Training in the Basics focuses on matters such as Assurance of Salvation, How to Share Your Faith, Prayer, Bible Study, Fasting, The Spirit and Word Controlled Life, Scripture memory, etc. These are the foundational matters to help people be stabilized and progress in the Lord. Great ministries like the Navigators, Inter-Varsity, CRU all still focus on helping people move forward in the elementary processes of their faith in Jesus Christ.

As a pastoral leader if you do not help these new people become established in their faith, then you are shaking their hands as they walk into corporate worship, giving them a baby bottle of milk as they come in, and burping the babies as they walk out the door. Think and pray about this…without initial pouring of spiritual concrete we just keep the new person vulnerable and placed in shifting sand.

As these new believers and defeated Christians see

their lives turned around through being Trained in the Basics, they keep focusing on Reaching New People as they grow in Christ. True Discipleship and Leadership understands there is no full growth with-out reaching the lost and those who are not moving forward spiritually. These new people also move forward in Christ through a few months of Training in the Basics. Be sure to keep this process somewhat short as these new people need to be Equipped to Serve. Hebrews 6 encourages us to move on in our faith. People need to know what their spiritual gifts are and how to use them. As followers of Christ we must know what our natural gifts and talents are as they also come from the Lord. This is a crucial step in Equipped to Serve. When people are equipped for the ministry God has for them, they are passion-ate and motivated about making a difference for the King and His Kingdom. Along with our spiritual gifts and talents, we need to understand the needs around us and beyond. What are our eternal purposes as believers and how has God wired you to fulfill those purposes? What is your uniqueness and contribution to the Body of Christ? What are you spiritual passions? What is your calling? How has God shaped you for eternal im-pact? The finest ministry and resources that I know of in the world in this realm, center with Kingdom Mobi-lization. Visit kingmo.org and see what Pastor Nolen Rollins and his team have developed for you and your people. Simply fantastic! How can we read Ephesians 4 and not want to connect with a process like this. After our conversion to Christ and grasping the Spirit and Word controlled life, it seems to me that God’s endowment in our lives, through Spiritual Gifts and our Natural Gifts may be the most import-ant truths that we can absorb in life.

Being Mobilized for Ministry releases the joy of how we are so important to the Lord and His Kingdom purposes. Where does He want us? Are we serving Him here in this same city or town, and the same church? Are we called to serve Him in another loca-tion with a dynamic church? Are we called to serve Him in the same church here but also touch other

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When to know it is time to leave!So you think about leaving, but then you begin to feel guilty. Here is how you can respond to the frustration you feel:

List Continued from page 13...

• Consider whether or not you’re able to ask questions. Do the people at your church welcome honest inquiry?

• Consider whether or not your church is relevant to your real life.

• Consider whether or not you have something meaningful to do.

• Consider whether your money is used well.

• Commit to God, not just practices.

• Dream of more. If you do decide to leave your church, don’t settle for less spiritual growth than you experienced before.

• If you decide to stay, find new hope and joy in the process.

• If you decide to leave, do it well.

• Stay connected to God and others after leaving.

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locations through technology? Where in the world does the Lord want us?

This process of leadership development deals with releasing and deploying. Wherever the Christian soldier goes, he or she focuses on fulfilling the God ordained wiring that Jesus has placed in them. As they discover this wiring, they serve Christ in their strengths and also keep Reaching New People in the process.

This is why leadership development trumps preach-ing! Disciples who make disciples who make disci-ples, which leads to leaders who make leaders who make leaders for Jesus.

Greg Kappas is the President of the Grace Global Network and Vice President of TTI

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Okay, so you’ve been called to a church desperately in need of revitalization or you are serving a church which needs new life. You are fully dependent on the Lord to do a great work, because without Him, your labor will be in vain (cf. Psalm 127:1). So what do you do as you wait on Him? Several good answers exist, including evangelizing, being mentored, re-structuring, etc., but there is something you can do right away to make a major difference. You can plan your preach-ing with revitalization in mind. While shar-ing the gospel with unbelievers each week certainly matters, purposeful and better preaching can cause your active members to want to hear what comes next and they are more willing to invite their un-churched friends to hear your messages. Let me share some recommendations to accomplish this task.

SET ASIDE TIME TO PRAY AND PLANIt should go without saying, but you should seek the Lord about what He wants you to address. I believe the most biblical preach-ing is expository preaching through a book, or section of a book, of the Bible. After all, God gave His Word to us in individual books, not in separate verses and sayings tied together by our best human ingenuity. A

steady diet of expositional preaching will both explain and apply the text. A clear, though out plan of preaching will approach biblical texts the struggling church needs to hear. I suggest planning 6-12 months in advance. I usually take a few days in July and late December when things slow down at my church to plan and revise what I believe the Lord is leading me to preach.

CONSIDER YOUR CHURCHAs you keep one eye on the Lord and His Word, keep your other eye on the people He has entrusted to your care. Yes, the Lord Him-self called you into ministry, but He has called you to serve a particular group of people, your church. Think about the church’s struggles. Do they need to deal with issues of repentance or forgiveness or acceptance? After serving one church for a few years, I mentioned in a sermon how we would never move forward if they kept distrusting me without reason just because they learned to distrust their former pastor. A few people responded, telling me they needed to hear that, because they had not been following my lead out of fear they were going to be hurt again. A timely address can help wounds heal and allow members to unite together in their mission.

A Preaching Plan for Growthby Joel R. Breidenbaugh

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Furthermore, when looking at your people, consider what they have heard recently. If you are brand-new as their pastor but the interim just finished a six-month study of the Sermon on the Mount, then you don’t need to cover that text for a few years. Give thought to what they need to hear. Issues like evangelism, discipleship, stewardship, prayer and ministry line the pages of the New Testament and will often come out in preaching. Those areas of the Christian life may be so common precisely because they are the easiest for us to neglect.

DIVIDE AND CONQUERThe Apostle Paul was quite possibly the best model for faithful preaching in the local church. He spent a good deal of time in Corinth and Ephesus in shepherding those newly planted churches. As a missionary to unreached peoples, Paul never stayed more than a few years in any single place, but he taught the Scriptures daily and declared “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). Such preaching includes both the Old and New Testaments. Too many preachers forsake the Old Testament today, even though it is foundational to the New Testament. While I would argue for preachers to major on the New Testament (after all, we are Christian preachers), we ought to preach several times each year from the Old Testament. Without it, we cannot declare the whole counsel of God.

In preaching from both testaments, let me make something clear: I’m not arguing for preaching through a whole book most of

the time, unless it’s a short book. Because most Western-world thinkers only think a few weeks ahead, I suggest planning sermon series in 4-8 week increments. Thus, instead of preaching straight through Matthew, I recom-mend dividing it into major sections/themes (chapters 1-4, 5-7, 8-10, 11-16:20, etc.). If you decide to preach straight through a long book, dividing it into different series will give it a sense of freshness so that the audience doesn’t think, “How long are we going to be in Matthew?” Don’t get me wrong: Mat-thew is a great book. Most churches in need of revitalization, however, don’t need more understanding of Christ’s identity but more of the gospel applied through the letters to the churches.

PLAN STRATEGICALLYAs you plan your preaching, look at key dates. In my place of service, we have more people regularly attend the weeks after Labor Day and even more beginning the second Sunday of the New Year. Launching new, growth-fo-cused sermon series at these times is prac-tical and wise. If I want to preach a four-part series on stewardship (2 Corinthians 8-9) or several weeks on the family (Ephesians 5:21-6:4), it makes more sense to plan these ser-mons to help as many people as possible and strengthen the overall health of the church.

During my church’s down times, I plan what people want to hear, so they are more likely to show up rather than take the weekend get-away. For example, when I preached portions of Revelation in the summer, our slowest time of the year, we actually had a bit of a boost. Of course, with thousands of sermons avail-

Making “IT” worth It!

Here is a quick lesson for any Church Revitalizer about making it all worth it for you, your church, and your community as you build value.

Your Vision Must Be CompellingYou cannot build value for church members, pros-pects, volunteers, lay leadership, or the communi-ty without a compelling vision and values for your new church.

Become a Significant Leader in Your CommunityYou build value by becoming the leader in your community, the church that everybody wants to attend, work for, grow from, or support. It takes tremendous confidence to stake out the territory and to lead others toward it.

Withstand the Loneliness of Leading Lay PeopleYou have to withstand the doubts and loneliness of pastoral leadership. At the same time you have to acknowledge to yourself and others that you don’t always know how you will reach your desti-nation.

Trust Your Laity First, In Time They Will Trust You For others to follow you through times of uncer-tainty requires mutual trust and faith.

That is what clarity of vision and commitment to values can bring. I once thought that the test of personal leadership was the number of people that follow a leader. But what is more rewarding is to look across a church and see the number of leaders in place, people who share a common aspiration and have the tools and wisdom—the vision and values—to achieve something great. That is any church revitalizer’s greatest legacy, to make “IT” all worth it for everyone. Then you know your vision is on right track.

~ By Tom Cheyney

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able online now, some people don’t care if they miss a sermon, because they will listen later. Many people, however, still understand the impact of hearing it live and will want to be present for something which piques their interest.

ADD A FEW BREAKSIf you are like me, you love to preach. You want to get into the Word and show others what God has shown to you. And you want to do it week after week. As good as that de-sire is, you need to plan some time away for vacation, conferences, mission trips and such. You also need to address certain subjects on a particular date, breaking from your series (Christmas, Easter, a sudden, major event in-terrupting your series). You may even need to preach a topical sermon once in a while (just make sure to repent afterwards!).

Conclusion

I hope these suggestions are helpful to you. I pray God uses His Word in your life and min-istry to rekindle the fire in your church so the people grow together spiritually and reach others. May God bless your preaching and the plans and hopes you set in place for His glory and the good of His people.

Joel Breidenbaugh is the lead pastor of FBC Sweet-water where he has led the church in revitalization and renewal.

Church Revitalization in Rural America

By Tom Cheyney & John Kimball

Book & DVD Resource Set

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Feature Writer11 Ways to Revitalize the Future of the ChurchThere are common denominators in every renovate scenario. I have found these 11 ways to be proven and practical elements that will change your church now for the future.

1. HAVE THE ABILITY TO SAY “NO.”Clarity not only attracts, it divides. Vision or direction is important because it provides clarity. Clarity helps determine what we say yes and no to.With clarity you will have to say no.

Ever been to the eye Dr? He presents images for each eye and asks; “Yes or no?” “Better or worse?” Asking the right questions and having the right perspective helps in saying no. Leaders must have the ability to say no. It’s tough to say no, nonetheless, at times we must.

2. GET OUTSIDE THE BOX. Houdini was a master at demonstrating the power of getting outside the box. It may sound counter intuitive but in order for us to get out of the box we must think inside the box first. Before Houdini ever stepped in the box he knew how to get out of the box. Death would come if he stayed in the box. Know how to get out of the box and then do it!

3. QUICK DECISION MAKINGEstablish a culture of decision-making.

4 types of decision-making styles (all four need to be a part of your culture)

1. Command Decisions – when decisions need to be on the spot2. Collaborative – Team feedback decisions3. Consensus - body decisions4. Convenience – When someone else needs to make the decision

4. FLEXIBILITYOvercome and adapt. “Blessed are the flexible, for they will not be bent out of shape.”

Culture moves fast. Life is predictably unpredictable. There needs to be an awareness of the need for flex-ibility.

If we are not careful we can fossilize in our systems and ways of operation.

5. MAKE THIS DAY THAT DAYOf all the advantages a leader has it is the ability to see where you are going.Seeing what needs to happen in order to move for-ward is a great thing – it helps lay the groundwork.

Start leading, planning, equipping like you are more than what you are – that way when you get “there” you can handle the increase.

Lay the groundwork and the need for: staff, rooms, ministries, events, and budgets.Frequently ask “what if” questions: - What if we see 20 new families? - What if 100 visitors came on a Sunday? - What if we start turning families away because of our nursery, children’s area, and student ministry?

Plan today like your tomorrow is here!

6. BECOME CONTAGIOUS NOT RELIGIOUSFaith is contagious - Excitement is contagious - Joy is contagious. Smile, be happy, be genuine – celebrate not complain – love instead of condemn – lift up in-stead of load down – offer grace instead of grumble you will attract people!

Be a church where people want to invite people to attend.

Ask: If you weren’t paid to go to your church, would you attend?

7. EMBRACE SOCIAL MEDIAThe first automobile instructors had a hard time getting people to press the brake. Every new driver yelled Whoa!!! It’s always been difficult learning to ride a new horse.

It may be hard to imagine and you may be tempted to say Whoa – but social media is here to stay.

It’s Monday, Let’s Get Ready for Sundayby Ron Smith

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Find someone who understands it. Post something once a day on FaceBook: Scripture, pictures, etc.

Have someone take pictures and post them.

Social media is a free public relations campaign in your hands. It’s free fellowship – it’s fast fellowship and yet its effects last much longer than the moment.

8. VALUE EXPERIMENTATIONIf the horse is dead dismount.Remind the church that failure is more common than success.

Did Noah have any experience building a boat?Did Abraham have any experience navigating to the Promise Land? Did Peter know how to walk on water?

We must continually tweak current ministries and try new ones.

9. MOVE FROM MEMBERSHIP TO OWNERSHIPIf you have not studied Arthur Flake then you need to. Arthur Flake was a master for his time. He did more to grow Sunday School than any other man I am aware of. In a book by him I discovered 6 points of Sunday School from Arthur Flake.1)Attendance 2) On Time 3) Bible Brought 4) Offer-ing 5) Prepared Lesson 6) Preaching Attendance.

What Pastor would not be pleased if our church members came to church with that attitude? The point is this – church members at that time had an ownership in the ministry (not just the carpet of a classroom). Teach ownership – get church members involved in the work of ministry.

10. ADJUST PEOPLE’S PRIORITIES NOT JUST THEIR SCHEDULESThe early church did more than add a time of wor-ship and house meetings to the schedule. The early church changed people’s priorities about God, life, and mission.

Teach the value of living life on mission.Schedule times of living life on mission.Get them serving … often…with impact.Show them a preferred future.

11. PRACTICE 52 QUALITY SUNDAYSAct as if this Sunday is someone’s first. Emphasize

Quality and Quantity.

Put your best forward on Sunday. Sunday is the first day of the week. Train your church in this philosophy: If we get Sunday right we get the week right. If we get God right we get everything else right.

Sunday needs to be a win for everybody.

Define the win for your leaders, for your members, for your visitors and for your mission.

Ask: What will make an impact on the lives of those who attend? Do not ask: What will they like – what will make them happy?

The Church has a future as you can see. We can follow 11 principles right now and see immediate results.

Ron Smith is the lead pastor of FBC Altemonte Springs a church working towards revi-taliztion and renewal. Ron is a husband to Rana, father to three girls and Pastor of FBC Altamonte Springs. Ron is the author of Churches Gone Wild. You can follow Ron and receive free resources at RonBSmithJr.com. Ron serves as CO-Leader of Renovate Podcasts as well as serving on staff of the Renovate Coaching Network.

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Feature Writer

Pitfalls of Church Revitalizers—Part 1

Have you ever attempted to assemble something for which you did not have the directions? I am thinking about a swing set…who would want to have to put a swing set together without the directions? Clearly, there are obvious problems when trying to accomplish a task for which there is ambiguity on one hand or outright chaos on the other. Such is the case for revitalization. What is church revitalization? Who is to lead church revitalization? How is church revitalization to be done? All of these questions (and many more) are very legitimate questions and yet the lack of answers can make us feel like we are trying to put together a swing set with no directions. In this article, I am going to share some thoughts as it relates leading revitalization; specifically, what are some pitfalls that you will want to avoid as a revitalizer?

It seems reasonable at this juncture to help define what we are talking about when we talk about Re-vitalization. Church revitalization is the process in which a church is renewed in their determination to experience healthy and sustained spiritual, nu-merical, and organizational growth by refocusing on their God-given mission as expressed through their obedience to Scripture. In my life, our church experienced revitalization when God led Corner-stone Baptist Church and University Hills Baptist Church to merge together in 2008. Though both churches were relatively healthy churches, both churches were aware that they were not meeting their potential, due to a variety of reasons. They merged, in large part, because they fundamentally believed that by pooling their resources, talents, and treasures, they could make a greater impact in the lives of individuals and families of the south

metro Denver area. Having lived through that experience and having watched God work, there are many lessons we have learned the hard way that will hopefully serve to prevent you from having to learn the same lessons.

PITFALL #1: LACK OF PRAYER

I am sure many of us acknowledge this reality, but maybe we fail to appreciate it: good inten-tions are not always God’s intentions. This may surprise you, but church revitalization is really not about your ideas, plans, and vision. The church belongs to God and was purchased with the blood of Christ. God has called you to serve His church, but our responsibility is to carry out His ideas, His plans, and His vision. There is no way to understand his plan and his vision, if you do not meet with him regularly and consistently in prayer. As a revitalizer you must, let me say it again, you must hear from the Lord. Would Joshua have ever thought to walk around the walls of Jericho for seven days if the Lord would not have spoken to him? Would Jonah have ever gone to Nineveh had God not spoken to him? Would Nehemiah have ever gone back to rebuild the walls had God not spoken to him? I could go on and on….As one who has been a part of multiple revi-talization efforts, I can assure you, your revi-talization efforts will surely fall short if you are unwilling to daily and diligently practice prayer. Revitalization is way too tough to do it on your own!

The Leadership Link…by Michael Atherton

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PITFALL #2: FAILURE TO PRACTICE SHARED LEADERSHIP/MINISTRY

The Bible speaks often of the basic principles of leadership. Yet, all too often we have allowed ourselves to become numb to the impact that leadership has in the church. If you desired to gain an insight into leadership by understanding its definition, you would quickly realize that for every book or article written on the topic, there is a definition given. Every quasi-expert to reputable practitioner who writes on the topic has asserted that if you will follow their definition and theories, you will revolutionize your church or business.

All sarcasm aside, this topic is so vitally important to me. However, it is not because I contend to be an expert on the topic. In fact, God has blessed this generation with such great church leaders that I cannot, should not, and will not begin to assert myself as an authority and thus take away from the respect that they deserve. Rather, my passion comes from a fundamental belief that God uses ordinary people like you and me to bring about His extraordinary purposes.

One of the great lessons I have learned over the years as it relates to revitalization leadership is the need to practice what I call shared leadership. Shared leadership is the collaborative effort of all members of a team, working within their areas of giftedness, utilizing their strengths and being aware of their weaknesses, to exert influence with-in their organization, to achieve the organization’s agreed upon goals and objectives. Simply put, involve other people in the journey!

Let’s consider Paul’s words in his first letter to the church of Corinth. He says, “If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. If they were all one member, where would the

body be? But now there are many members, but one body” (1 Corinthians 12:17-20).God has bestowed upon His church individual spiritual gifts. These gifts are to be used for the edification of the body. It makes little sense for a foot to function as an ear, or a nose to function as a hand. Likewise, in the church, giftedness should be seen through the lens of ministry calling and therefore should result in a shared ministry/leadership construct.

As such, we learned much like Moses in Exo-dus 18, when the ministry/leadership load was shared, we gained strength to last longer and the people experienced peace. So, practically, as a leader, I cast vision and led the people to understand what God was doing. At that point, the encouragers got to work encouraging. The administrators got to work administrating. The teachers got to work teaching. As a Senior Pastor I did not do everyone else’s job. Everyone played their part, we worked together and we shared the ministry/leadership load.

TO BE CONTINUED…

In the next issue of the Leadership Link I will examine three more pitfalls. Until then let me leave you with an encouraging word. Please know, church revitalization is hard work, but a good work. Just because you feel like you are putting a swing set together with no instruc-tions, please know God has a supreme interest in the work you are setting out to accomplish. You are never alone!

Michael Atherton is the lead pastor of the Cornerstone Church in Longtree, CO where he has turned around two churches through a church merger.

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Building Trust (Part One)

by Neal Franks

TRUST GOD DAILY Who do you follow? Who are the leaders that you trust and believe in? What about your role as a leader and the importance of earning the trust of your people? Why should they trust you? In part one of Building Trust, you learned important elements to building trust in the people you lead. It begins with your relationship with God and the level of trust you are living every day. Again, that cannot be understated or assumed. If you don’t trust God for everything in your life and confess it daily, then the rest of these principles are a waste

of time! Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.” New American Standard Bible (NASB)

As you know, God really provides the best exam-ple of how to be trustworthy! He has proven to be reliable in everything He has said and done. Jesus gave us great examples by how He lived a trustworthy lifestyle. He treated His followers with genuine love and respect. His actions were

“A Church Revitalizer’s honesty and frankness will make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank any-way. Revitalization is hard work and those who soft peddle the process loose in the end.”

~ Tom Cheyney

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consistent. Even when people did not agree with His words and decisions, Jesus was true to His Godly character. It is so much easier to trust someone who is trustworthy.

CREATE HIGH TRUST & LOW FEARIn Building Trust, part one, I talked about the importance of creating a culture of high trust and low fear. High trust comes from showing others that character counts, not only from words we say but making sure our actions back it up.

CONSISTENCYNext, a leader must be capable and consistent. People have to know you are the right person for your role and they must witness the results over and over.

COMMUNICATEPart of building high trust and low fear is through communication. Communicating well was the tool Jesus used to share love and truth. Jesus communicated verbally and non-verbally. Being trustworthy in His actions validated those truths. An example of a powerful non-verbal action was told in John, chapter 6, when Jesus took 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes and fed thousands of people! Many that were following Jesus were hoping he was the Messiah and they were also hungry. Jesus never said a word to each person but his actions communicated that He cared, that He loved them, and that He had the power to do things only God’s son could do!

CLARITYTrustworthy communication is hard work. It requires clarity. You must be specific. Sometimes leaders over exaggerate numbers to make the results look good. The numbers are helpful and critical to know because what you measure gives you an indicator of how you are doing. But, counting your plans and goals should either be specific or not shared at all. People second guess a leader if results cannot be proved. The apos-

tle John told us that 5000 men were fed from 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes! That is specific and it makes the true story very powerful!

CONCISEAnother principle Jesus used often is His habit of being concise! There I said it! Being concise is not a habit that most leaders are born with. Concise means giving a lot of information clearly and in a few words. There is an art to being concise. It re-quires practice. Trustworthy leaders should keep people up to date on information that could be important to their lives and especially in the life of the church. Creating the right wording in communication is the missing strategy that most leaders overlook. Be concise! Jesus shared over 40 parables by revealing truth and being con-cise. In Luke 12:15, Jesus described a story with a powerful warning. He gave the truth first about being careful not to get caught up in greed and possessions more than a relationship with God. He then described a rich farmer that had a big crop and decided to build more and more barns to gather more and more crops. Jesus warned that the farmer wanted to be rich in things and not in God! In less than 150 words, Jesus taught with concise communication.

Most leaders are anxious to move on. It’s a gift and a curse! Leaders that are good planners are always thinking about what is coming up next. But, moving on can kill the communication that everyone you are leading needs to hear. You must communicate who, what, where, why, and how over and over again! Why? Because you develop trust by building a team of believers in where you see God leading you. They can’t believe in what they don’t understand. Before I came to one of my church assignments, I was told a story about a nightmare experience from one of the previous pastors. The pastor had told the leadership of the church that he had com-mitted verbally to begin a major mission project in another country and he knew they would love the value of his strategic decision. One of the men who had been involved in the church for years scolded the pastor for not allowing his

Dr. Neil Franks serves as Lead Pastor of First Baptist Church of Branson, Missouri and launched the first daily video de-votional App called, 2-Minute Pastor for smartphone users.34

servant leadership team to discuss, pray and seek God for His plan. That leader left the church a few months later. The mission project never happened. Trust is easily broken when commu-nication is taken for granted. That pastor could have easily shared who, what, where, why and how that night with an extended time of prayer at the end to ask God and the group for wisdom. God only knows if he had taken the time to do that, perhaps that mission project would have happened!

Not only do you communicate often but you also must pay attention to the generation of your au-dience. Every generation has a different form of understanding based on the time they grew up. If you don’t think so, then try and tell someone who fought in World War II to stop being so pa-triotic. That generation created the definition of what being patriotic means! They are also loyal. If you want to change something they like, you need to take the time to explain why! The oppo-site example is the millennial generation (ages 18 to 36). They are loyal to friends and causes more than traditions. Every generation has a dif-ferent frame of reference. A good communicator knows and studies the audience.

RESPONDING TO CRITICISMThe last principle of building trust is measured by how well you respond to criticism. Most leaders work hard to do things well and it can create an inner pride. That leader may believe that no one else understands the situation like he/she does. Although that is probably true, a leader may develop distrust in following others’ advice. Pastors may use their title to make power statements when challenged by critical thoughts like, “Hey, I am the senior pastor!” Without un-derstanding the principle, the leader is building

a shallow trust. Others may nod their heads in agreement but inside are not sure about the di-rection you want to take them. A good leader is open to direct criticism. There are two powerful proverbs that provide wisdom on this subject. Proverbs 27:6 says, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend.” Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” English Standard Version (ESV)

Patrick Lencioni is an author/consultant to lead-ers and from his own personal experience re-vealed what he tells leaders over and over again. He calls the principle “vulnerability-based trust”. He says that there is a powerful foundation built when leaders readily admit their faults, mistakes and relative deficiencies to the people they lead. Lencioni says that people love to buy into discussions where healthy and honest conflicts/ideas can turn into solutions that the whole team agrees on. Lencioni says without building trust the leader stands alone! (Five Dysfunctions of Team)

To summarize what building trust involves: you trust God daily, create high trust and low fear, be consistent with follow-through, communicate: who, what, when, where and why, use clarity, saying things in a concise way, explain it over and over again, and respond to criticism in order to build a team that ultimately trusts your lead-ership.

Lencioni, Patrick. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2002. Print.

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Debunking the Excuses for Procrastinating in Revitalization

When I was in high school, I had come to realize I was settling into an outstanding pattern of pro-crastination. Often I would put off an assignment only to find my self slammed the few days be-fore it was due because of other assignments and commitments! By the time I got into my second year of college I had outgrown my procrastinating posture. Churches sometimes are much like my high school lifestyle. They too can begin to stand out in the area of procrastination. Many a church needs to do something and they need to do it right away only to discover that by the time they get to it, the opportunity to make a change has come and gone and the opportunity is missed.

As pastor leaders our reasons for putting off pressing action are as extensive as our aptitude for creative thoughts, but one of the more common excuses is: “We need to just get ourselves out of debt at church first!” May I challenge briefly and perhaps offer some words that will dispel the power of these ideas that often paralyze the local church? A little debt actually will not hurt most churches today! Most often if the debt is tied to the financ-ing of something that helps the church grow it is a safe investment. But take notice of what I am about to say! If your church fellowship is in a death dive as far as its regular Sunday attendance, it would be un-wise to invest in this way. When you are not sure of ones future income base for the local church it could further cripple the church beyond any chance of recovery. Many unwise and untrained pastors often thrust a church membership into something, which requires large capital funds only to discover that they do not have the necessary members in the church in order to sustain the cost of the capital idea. Far too many churches get so over their heads in capital debt that it squeezes the life out of the ministry and work of the Lord in that church for a large number of years into the future. Eventually the minister moves on and leaves the church in a critical situation. That is usually when a church revitalizer is called to lead the church and make the hard and necessary decisions to give it the best opportunity for life again.

One church which is led by a wise Church Revitalizer has taken six years to get it back on its feet all because a previous pastor and executive pastor had gotten it so in debt that it was about to go un-der. Today it is glory days but the previous six years were nothing but hard work and even harder decision making in order to bring the church out of unwise debt.

By Dr. Tom Cheyney

“What’s in it for me?” Christian Entitlement - Continued by Rob Myers

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We’re not entitled to anything but death without Christ. But in Christ we’re entitled to be heirs to the Kingdom of God.

Because man is dead and his trespasses and sin, God through his Holy Spirit draws us unto him-self and gives us moments of spiritual freedom to respond to the preaching of the Word of God. Through the fragile vessels, of mortal men the Good News of Jesus Christ is preached to an en-slaved world. As Jesus binds the strong man, the grace of God sets free for a moment the will of man to make a decision that can change eternal destiny. In that Holy moment, man can choose to believe or not. The man will either choose the Lordship of Jesus Christ or the lordship of self-centeredness.

The last words of Jesus on the cross were “Tete-lestai.” which means: accounts paid in full. On the cross, the work of salvation was fully and complete-ly paid for. There is no more work for men to do concerning salvation. Let us not, however, think that there is no work to do. The work that we have to do is the result of the indwelling nature of the Holy Spirit compelling us to fulfill the great com-mands and the great commission.

So James the brother of Christ, after knowing the complete teachings of his brother, confronts an ‘entitled’ group of Christians in the New Testament time, telling them that sitting on their rear ends and not fulfilling the commands of Jesus, but feeling complacent in having received salvation by faith through God’s grace, does not match up with the teachings of Jesus Christ himself. It is James’ big brother that said, “if you love me you will keep my commandments.”

18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. 20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? – James 2:18-20

Even demons have the belief of mere acknowl-edgment. There are many atheist who acknowl-edge as fact, that Jesus Christ walked on this earth. Obviously, these men and women have not died to themselves, repented by turning away from self-rule and to Christ rule and have com-mitted their lives to fulfilling God’s great commis-sion and commands - living on purpose.

Can a man who defies Christ, and disobeys His prime directive, be believed when he says that he loves God? ”If you love me, obey me..”

Show Him something…

Rob Myers is the Lead pastor, Miami Baptist Church--A vibrant multi-cultural church of over 700 in attendance located on the main East - West corridor of South Miami. Rob has been pastoring for over twenty eight years and before that was in music and youth ministry for ten years. Rob was a

church planter for seventeen years and has now been the Senior Pastor of Miami Baptist Church for eleven years. Edu-cated at Palm Beach Atlantic University (B.A.); Southwest-ern Baptist Theological Sem-inary (M.Div.) and currently Laurel University (D. Min.).



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The Seven Pillars of Church Revitalization and Renewal

Our Lord loves the local New Testament Church and it is His desire to see it grow! The need for Church Revitalization has never been greater in North America! An estimated 340,000 Protestant churches in America have an average attendance of less than one hundred. Research data tells us that in the United States more than 80% of the churches have plateaued or are declining. Each and every week we are currently seeing somewhere between fifty and seventy-five local church-es closing their doors and not opening them again. Everything that must be done in the area of church revitalization cannot be accomplished in a few hours on the Lord’s Day!

The most recent research data released in January of 2012 by the Leavell Center for Evange-lism and Church Health, has said that within my own Southern Baptist Convention we are at a critical juncture regarding church plateau and decline. The most recent series of studies have been conducted by Bill Day; Associate

Director of the Leavell Center for Evangelism and Church Health, who serves the New Orleans Bap-tist Theological Seminary as the Gurney Professor of Evangelism and Church Health in his sequen-tial studies on church health and growth of 2003, 2007, and 2010. In January of 2012 Bill Day report-ed, that currently there are less than seven percent (6.8) of our SBC churches that are healthy growing churches. That means 3,087 of our 45,727 SBC churches are healthy. Even the number of SBC churches is in decline and we need to address the needs for church revitalization immediate-ly.

Thinking About the Seven Pillars of Church Revitaliza-tion

Working in the area of Church Revitalization will lead you eventually to consider the Seven Pillars of Church Revitalization. A Church Revitalizer will not be working in all of these areas at the same time, but you will eventually find yourself working in most of them at one time or another. Take a moment to reflect upon the Seven Pillars graph as we discuss these areas of renewal and revitalization.

Revitalization and RealignmentPerhaps the easiest pillar to ad-dress is revitalization and realign-ment. Some observers of church revitalization and renewal argue that the era of small churches is over and that the future belongs to the arising mega churches across North America. Granted mega is an amazing phenome-non of the past thirty years which seems to have arisen with the concept of the massive campus church. But to ignore the 340,000 plus churches in North America that average less than 100 weekly in church attendance would be ill advised! Those who serve and those who attend these churches are an enormously significant network of Christian influence. Even the mega church finds itself struggling to avoid plateau and decline.

A church in need of Revitalization is described as one where: there is the plateauing or declining after a phase of recent or ini-tial expansion; then the church experiences the beginning of a high turn-over of lay leaders; there becomes a shorter duration of stay of fully assimilated people within the work; the church mo-rale and momentum level drops; the church coasts for a brief time

The Seven Pillars of Church Revitalization and Renewal: Foundational for Declining Churches by Tom Cheyney

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and then drops again, only to see the cycle of decline repeated again and again. The result is the church hits a new low! This new normal is the first sign of a church in need.

Refocusing Refocusing is the second pillar and it helps churches that are growing, but still need to set new challenges and look for new opportunities to expand their gospel witness into their target area. Questions such as what is your biblical purpose and why do we exist as a congregation must be addressed. Looking at how God showed up in the past is a good way to get the church un-stuck by addressing where it has been, how God has worked and

what does He have for its future. Addressing the church’s focus, vi-sion, and leading them to discov-er God’s new direction is just the beginning of helping a congrega-tion to begin refocusing towards the Lord’s new calling plan for the church! Many a pastor today has never been taught how to grow a church and they feel quite stuck and in need of someone to come along side of them and challenge them to refocus one’s self and the church!

Re-visioningA little bit harder certainly, but not as hard, as the descending order of decline that will eventu-ally lead to the Restarting pillar of revitalization. Have you ever seen a church that once was alive

and vital begin to lose its focus and drive for the cause of Christ? That is a church that needs to work on its Re-visioning strat-egy! Any Re-visioning strategy works to help churches dream new dreams and accomplish new goals that lead towards re-growing a healthy church! This strategy is designed for a weekend retreat tailored fit to foster a sense of ownership and team ship related to discovering a shared vision for the church. Understanding the critical mile-stones necessary for a new vision will help foster healthy church practices that might have been lost. Something as simple as achieving a great goal of some sort can begin to launch a church back into a Re-visioning strategy. Something as simple and danger-ous as the Lord’s children taking

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an ill advised rest that resulted in a slowing or stalling of the momentum into a maintenance mentality can cause a church to become stuck.

RenewingChurch Renewal is the forth pillar of the seven pillars of Church Revitalization process. Often the church simply needs to get back to that which was working and get back on track. When that is needed a careful renewal strate-gy needs to be planned and car-ried out. Renewing a congrega-tion becomes much harder than the refocusing, re-visioning and revitalization process. Not every-one who works in church renewal is wired the exact same way and it is important to understand each congregation’s individual needs and not try to make a one size fits all! There is no magic pill in church revitalization. Far too much writing on church growth of the 1980’s was designed in a one size fits all “bigger is better” model and while it may not have been the only cause for declining numbers in our churches, but it certainly contributed! It is vital that you prepare the laity for the work of church renewal as well as yourself. Communicate early and often with the church how the renewal process will take place and how it will be implemented. Prepare yourself spiritually and then prepare your leaders spiri-tually. Then begin preparing your church spiritually for renewal! A Church Renewal Weekend is a great way to start! Church renew-

al is not about finding the magic medication or treatment to get growing. It is more about discov-ering God’s vision for the church and practicing it for the long haul. The utilization of a Church Renewal weekend works well to draw God’s people back towards health and vitality.

Reinvention This fifth pillar of Church Revi-talization deals with tools and techniques to assist the church

when it is necessary to reinvent itself to a changing community. When a church experiences a shift in the community makeup, often there will be to various degrees, the need to redevelop a new experience for those who make up the new church context! New experiences must replace old experiences. New practices likewise will replace old practic-es. A church that is experiencing the need for reinvention must take seriously the need and make the commitment for reinventing itself, revaluing itself, reforming itself, and reinvigorating itself to fit the new context.

Restoration This sixth area of Church Revital-ization deals with things a church and a minister must go through when circumstances necessi-tate that a restoration process is called for! Things such as:Gaining a new and fresh under-standing of the new future for the church is vital if success is in the church’s future.

Inspiring new prospects with a vision that is both compelling and motivational. Prospects seek to be inspired and not dragged down in the world in which we live in.

Meet new needs in order to give you a restored place among the community in which you seek to further minister.

Become prospect driven during these days of transition. Look

The restart church revitalization mod-el is being used all

across North Amer-ica. Changing the

mindset of the resid-ual membership can

often be very difficult. Senior adults occupy most of these restart candidate churches for which change is often hard to come

by. Until the church is ready to make drastic changes, it is useless to become involved.

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for new and yet to be reached opportunities to minister.

Remember if you try to do every-thing you will end up doing noth-ing. Therefore pick your greatest opportunities first and let the rest follow along later.

Craft something that comes out of a community in flux and look for ways to reconnect to the community where you once were firmly entrenched. Keep in mind you have been given a second chance so don’t blow it. Prayer-fully seek the new things because it might be something you will be doing for a long long time!

RestartingThe final Pillar of Church Revital-ization is the hardest and often only happens once the church’s patriarchs and matriarchs have tried everything else they could think of to grow the church with no success! The challenge here is that most churches wait too long to enter into this area of revital-ization and by the time they are willing to utilize this strategy, they have sucked out all of the life within the church and it is no longer a viable candidate for this effort. When a sick church no longer has the courage to work through the various issues that led to its poor health, it is usually identified as being on life support and in need of a restart. This type of church has been flat-lined and just holding on by means of its legacy and the faithful few who attend. The Restarting Strategy (also known as a Repotting strat-

egy) is for an unhealthy church to once again begin growing and to engage in a renewed vision that is demonstrated through suffi-cient evidences of hope.

The restart based church revital-ization model is being used all across North America. Any group planting churches or working in the area of Church Revitalization should have a restart strategy if it is going to be a wise steward. One critical point from the start is a complete change of leadership and direction is a must for this revitalization model to be suc-cessful. Lyle Schaller reminds us that 85,000 evangelical churches are running fewer than 50 on Sunday. Being aware of their “critical” condition, however, is not enough. They have got to become convinced they need “major” surgical treatment. One church I have worked with still believes that they have more to offer, though their decline has been meteoritic and yet they

refuse to allow a restart to take place.

Changing the mindset of the residual membership can often be very difficult. Senior adults occupy most of these restart candidate churches for which change is often hard to come by. Until the church is ready to make drastic changes, it is useless to become involved. There are thou-sands of churches like this all over America: Some are Baptists, oth-ers are Methodists, even in the Assemblies you can find them, Presbyterians, the Lutherans have them, Congregational, Christian, and many others, waiting for a mission-minded congregation to get involved in offering “new life.” One startling phenomena is there are churches today that as the la-ity begin to depart this life often see nothing wrong with taking the church to the grave as well. That was never part of God’s plan for the very thing He gave up His life.

Dr. Tom Cheyney is the founder and directional leader of Renovate National Church Revitalization Conference and Executive Editor of the Church Revitalizer.

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The Greatest Challenge in Revitalization by John Kimball

“Church Revitalization is only possible when the congregation is will-ing to directly engage in disciple-making.” – John Kimball

I’ve been a turn-around pas-tor. I’ve personally ministered in both rural and suburban settings. My experience is also national, working with local churches in virtually every region of the United States. There are many things I would tell you are non-negotiable if your church is to experience true revitalization. But there is one factor that, if missing, will prevent all revitalization efforts from ever taking root. And it has absolutely nothing to do with your pastor, your strategy or the demographics within which you must minister.

When a local church deter-mines that it is in plateau or decline, there are many op-tions it will typically pursue: seek out resources or seminars on growth, find or develop new programs, appoint new

leadership (sometimes in-cluding the pastor), etc. But in most cases, such pursuits will not quell the hemorrhaging, let alone bring the church out of its nosedive. This is because the problem is most often sys-temic within the congregation itself.

In over 25 years of ministry, I have yet to find a church that is experiencing revitalization problems where systemic issues were not in the driver’s seat. The challenge is help-ing the congregation to see that they must change if their church is to return to fruitful kingdom ministry. Here’s the bottom line: Church Revital-ization is only possible when the congregation is willing to directly engage in disci-ple-making.

Yes, the pastor must preach in a way that speaks directly to the hearts of those the church is called to reach. Yes, some form of small group ministry is mandatory if the quality of relationships required to grow

are going to form in the church family. Yes, intercessory prayer must be powerful and consis-tent in the life of the church. All these are true and more. However, none of these quali-ties will be able to turn around a church whose congregation has quietly and collectively stopped living out the Great Commission on a personal level.

I understand that many churches are into their second or even third generation of members who have not ac-tively participated in discipling people in Christ. I have faced the push back of those who have lived most of their lives with “discipleship” redefined as “teaching people about Jesus and the Bible.” But it is man-datory that we rediscover the New Testament truth that dis-cipleship is not so much about information as it is about trans-formation! And there are way too many people in churches all across America who know a lot about Jesus and the Bible, but whose lives look no differ-

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ent than the world. Churches are filled today with people who were “saved” years ago but who are still nearly as spiritually immature as the day they called Jesus “Lord.” This has to change.

Discipleship is not a class. It’s not a 13-week study. It’s not what you hire the pastor to do. Discipleship is a life-on-life in-vestment into a few key others guiding them to demonstrate spiritual growth, maturity and fruit in their walk with Jesus. Discipleship is something that every member of the congre-gation must actively do – and it is something that every member of the congregation must also actively receive. From the youngest to the oldest believer, we never stop becoming more like King Jesus until we stand before Him in glory.

In some shape or form, I have often been told, “Well, preach-er, that’s not the way we de-fine ‘church’ around here.” I understand. But at some point church members need to rec-ognize and accept their own part in their church’s decline. Our Jesus commissioned us all to make disciples – and until that once again becomes our primary activity, local churches will continue to wane.

It’s not easy, but it is possible for the church that wants to honor Jesus. It may require some outside help at first, but as the church’s leadership be-gins to disciple people – and they do so with a 2 Timothy 2:2 spirit where we disciple people to disciple people to disciple people – it is utterly amazing what can happen in the life and ministry of a local church. It’s not a magic bullet. It’s just simple obedience to the Great Commission on the personal level.

So what about your congre-gation? How many books have you read on church revitalization? How many seminars have you attended? How many assessments or demographic studies have you done? All of these are great tools, but unless they lead us to effectively address the systemic problem, they will remain fruitless. Is your con-gregation – the people who sit in your pews on Sunday – ready to take an active role in discipleship? Will they be-come willing partners with the Holy Spirit in leading others to maturity? Will they, at every age, humbly allow other be-lievers to pour into their lives so that they too may experi-ence growth, fruit and an even deeper walk with Jesus?

Herein is our greatest chal-lenge: leading our congre-gants to rediscover their active role in disciple-making. But it is a challenge from which we cannot escape. True revitaliza-tion cannot happen without it.

Dr. John Kimball is Director of Church Development for the Conservative Congrega-tional Christian Conference. He has nearly 30 years of pastoral experience, most of it in revitalization ministry, and coaches pastors and churches through development in his denomination and in partner-ship with the Praxis Center for Church Development. John serves as the Lead Pastor/Planter of Palmwood Church in Metropolitan Orlando.At the stroke of midnight on

The Women’s CornerBy Estelle Myers

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December 31, 2013, literally bil-lions of people around the globe ushered in another “new” year. Celebrations occurred all over the world and could be seen on the television, heard on the radio, viewed on Facebook, and even seen from our own front yard. Ev-eryone was alive with festivities, welcoming, with open arms, the dawn of a new day. Why all the fuss? Because deep down inside, everyone has high hopes that the next year will somehow be better than the last year. But will it? Are the hopes and dreams of billions only to be shattered by the hang-over felt the next day from over indulgence and a lack of sleep?

In counseling, a famous phrase has been coined to point out to people the futility of our think-ing when it comes to dealing with reality, “If we keep on doing the things we’re doing, we will keep on getting the results we’re getting.” Craziness is defined as: “Doing the same thing and expecting different results.” I have yet to figure out why people are so hopeful on the evening of December 31st each year, and so depressed the very next day. I also don’t understand why we seem to think that just because the magnificent ball drops in Time Square in New York City, we somehow “feel” that the new year might bring us something different than last year, when we wake up the next morning only to continue to do the very same thing that we did the year before, and the year before that, and

the year before that. Why in the world would anything change in our lives if we do not intentional-ly initiate a change?

Here’s another riddle for you: What is a rut? Answer: A grave with both ends kicked out. If we are not careful, our constant routines in life will take us to the grave accomplishing very little, and resulting in many a regret due to our inability to initiate change. So, you may be thinking, what should I change? Glad you asked.

Instead of writing resolutions regarding that which deteriorates first, our bodies, as most peo-ple do at the first of the year; or with the mind, which also goes quicker than you may think; how about starting with your soul? That part of you which is going to last forever? Does it not make sense to invest some time and effort into working on that which remains throughout all of eterni-ty? Why we are so obsessed with that which is going to decay, in-stead of that which lives forever, is beyond me- literally! (Lol for all my FB friends!) Seriously, why not begin your new year’s resolutions by first having a frank discussion with God? After all, He is the one who created you, loves you beyond knowledge, and desires a relationship with you. Don’t you think you might want to first con-sult Him about what He desires for you this year? Have you given it any serious thought? Or do you simply assume you know what’s

best for your life? Somehow, I think that our heavenly Father has a far greater outlook on our lives than we could ever think or imagine. Our plans are so small compared to His, for His thoughts are not our thoughts, and His ways are not our ways. (Isaiah 55:7) Can you trust the Lord to have a better plan for your life this coming year, than what you may have?

The problem comes in discover-ing what God desires for us. Most think that God is too busy to be concerned with our mundane hu-man existence. But, that is simply not true. The fact is that He went to great lengths to reveal His love and plans for every one of us. We simply have to ask Him. We have to seek Him out. We have to literally be ready to knock the door down in order to know Him better.(Matt. 7:7) Like any good Father, He does not demand this type of behavior from His chil-dren, instead, He waits for us to choose Him. One of my favorite Christmas movies of all time is Family Man. In the movie, follow-ing the theme of a modern day Christmas Carole, Nicolas Cage, after having a glimpse of what his life would have been if he had married his college sweet-heart, goes after her years later and seeks to woo her back. After much pleading, in desperation, he repeats a phrase that she had shared with him years earlier, “I choose us.” I love that line, because it defines their relation-ship. No matter what, no matter where, no matter how, he is de-liberately making a choice to do that which is necessary to be with the one he loves. Are you in love with Jesus so much so that your

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desire is do whatever it takes to be with Him? Jesus pursues us and in John 15:16 states, “You did not choose me, but I chose you...” Does it not make sense that if the God of the universe is seeking after you, that you might want to take time out to listen? Make an intentional choice this year to do just that. Come to Him with an expectation that He is going to meet you and speak to you in a very real way. Bring your Bible, your notebook and a pen with you, so that you can write down every word that He shares with you. Remember His prom-ise: “I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a fu-ture. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your face (heart). I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and bring you back from captivi-ty.” (Jeremiah 29:11-14)

The key to listening is found here in these words given to Jeremiah, which are similar to the words of Jesus found in John, chapters 14 and 15. First we are stirred by the knowledge that God is good and desires only the best for us, which gives us “hope and a future.” Next, we must choose to call upon the Lord, we must be intentional about our desire to spend time with Him and we must be will-ing to seek after Him with all

our being. When we do this, He promises to listen and states that, “He will be found.” What an amaz-ing concept, that mere mortals can actually commune with an Almighty God, our Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace! Jesus put it this way before He left the disciples:“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you....The Counselor, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid.” (John 14:18;26-27)

This year be very intentional about changing your life. Call upon the Lord daily, spend quality time with Him, and seek Him out with all your face. When you devote this kind of time to your heavenly Father, your per-spective will be forever changed. This changed perspective on life and godliness will radically affect every area of your life, which will insure that this new year will definitely be better than last year. For life is not about what you can do for God, but rather what God desires for you! Do you really know Him? You can this year in a way you’ve never experienced before. May God bless you a new and a fresh this coming year.Happy New Year!

Estelle C Myers, MRE School Administrator is the wife of a church revitalizer and a frequent ladies conference speaker. Estelle is bringing a new feature to the Church Revitalizer Magazine with a column called the “The Women’s Corner. Watch for her column in the upcoming editions. Welcome to the CR family Estelle.

Do Something in Church

Revitalization! Fix the Hole!

The plateaued and declining church needs to do something. Church and denominational leaders need to do something. We have spent enough time ringing the bell, shouting that there is a hole in the boat. It’s time to fix the hole. The more I study the existing church, the more convinced I am that the people in the pews want to see their churches turn around too. There is some disagreement on what must happen, but I would say that most are ready for some positive change. Here is some sage advice:

First and foremost, pray about church revitalization and seek God’s face for this undertaking.

Second, affirm your pastor and his leadership in the church.

Third, get to the point that you and your pastor can speak about your circumstances openly and at length with the church. Nothing is worse than attempting to effect change without the help and sup-port of the congregation. I

Fourth, don’t be afraid to ask for outside help. One dangerous con-sequence of pride is the inability to ask for help from others. Fifth, address the opposition that comes from revitalization biblically and immediately.

Terry Rials

Register: sbtexas.com/revitalization

Cost: $20 Time: 9am-4pmThis conference is open for pastors, associational leaders, and church leaders alike. This will be a day of intense conversations centered around strategic topics relating toward revitalization of the local church. If you are uncertain if your church is in need of revitalization, believe you are in need of revitalization, or simply interested in hearing more, then you are invited to join the conversation.

February eCriswell College

September qNortheast Houston Baptist Church

Terry TurnerSenior Pastor,Mesquite Friendship BCRevitalization & theAfrican American Church

Nathan LorickDirector Evangelism SBTCRevitalization & Evangelism

Craig EtheredgeSenior Pastor,FBC Colleyville Revitalization & Discipleship

Speakers:

Alan StoddardSenior Pastor,FBC Ruidoso, NMPreaching for Revitalization

Randal LyleSenior Pastor,Meadowridge Church Ft. WorthRevitalization & Multicultural Ministry

Jim HenryPastor EmeritusFirst Baptist, Orlando FloridaEncouragement for theRevitalization Pastor

Ted ElmorePastor/Church Relations Assocociate SBTCPraying for Revitalization

Kenneth PriestDirector ConventionStrategies SBTCIntroduction to ChurchRevitalization

CHURCH RevitalizationConferences

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FIRST AID For A Change Gone Bad: 7 Steps To Recovering From a Church Revitalization Misstep

As an active church-revitalization consultant of 20+ years, I knew “church change” was under-studied. This drove me to Fuller Seminary to earn my third degree there: a Ph.D. with a focus on church change. A resultant book, Preparing for Change Reaction: How To Introduce Change in Your Church, was awarded co-resource of the year by a national maga-zine. And, people often come up at conferences and tell me how helpful it is.

But people also come up and say,” What do I do now that I made a bad change?! How do I get out of that?!”

I realized leaders are often too stressed when everything is go-ing wrong to find the answer in the book. So, I decided to set out in this article an overview of the “7 Steps to Recovering from Bad Change.”

Step 1: Take a breath.

Once you realize a change is bad, your natural inclination is to rush in and halt the change … or plunge forward more ear-nestly. Both actions will usually doom the change, because you have “two emerging camps.” One camp we will call the change proponents and the other camp we will call the status quo.

On the one hand, change pro-ponents (people pushing for the change) are excited about the change and stopping it abruptly will alienate them. And on the other hand the status quo (peo-ple who want to keep things the way they are) will step up their resistance if they feel you are ham-fistedly moving forward.

But, you may ask, “What’s wrong with alienating the status quo? They aren’t the future. Go ahead, let them leave.” That might be an option if they would actually leave, but research indicates the status quo will likely not leave the church. If change polarizes, research shows change propo-nents will leave, not the status quo. Then you are stuck with an angry status quo (not something many pastors can survive). So from the very beginning of this process, you have to figure out how to move forward while living with both the status quo and the change proponents.

So instead of stopping abruptly or driving forward, tell everyone you are going to talk to people about the change and take some time to pray about it. Tell them that though the change will con-tinue, it will do so more slowly and you are praying to find con-sensus. This gives the status quo a chance to see you are aware things aren’t quite going well. The change proponents will also

be pleased that you understand the change is causing division.

Step 2: Talk to the naysayers.

Research confirms that you must go to those who are against the change and listen to them. Don’t act immediately on any of their suggestions, this is just a “fact finding” visit. People against the change usually just want to be heard. They care for the church too! They just want to ensure that your change does not take away something that is import-ant to them.

Pastors seem to have a hard time with this step. In my consultative practice, it seems many pastors exhibit conflict-avoidance behav-ior. Unfortunately, this will usu-ally doom a church into warring factions unless the pastor takes up the role of moderator: bring-ing disparate people together in mission.

Step 3: Bring together the status quo and the change proponents.

The pastor can be the moderator, but must not appear to take sides (even if they have in the past). Again, research cited in the book shows that when two sides get together they can come up with

By Bob Whitesel

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a “hybrid-plan” that works for both sides and works better than a plan with input from only one side.

Step 4: Apologize for not getting more input.

You are not apologizing for the change, but for the data gather-ing beforehand. Everyone could do more data gathering. But, maybe you are thinking, “Hey, I shouldn’t have to apologize. I’m the leader.” Or maybe even “Why should I apologize, it was their idea?” And yes, the change may have been thrust upon you or you may have felt that they hired you to bring about change. But, as Jim Collins found when researching why healthy com-panies fall, it is often because leaders develop hubris that they make bad decisions. Hubris means a pride and ambition based upon education, social status, professional status or ex-perience. Collins found the best leaders are ready to say, “I may have made a misstep here.”

Step 5: Implement the hybrid-plan.

This may be the easiest step. Still snags will develop. But, because you got the two sides talking to one another in Step 3, it is easier now to get them back together

to work out challenges. A key here is that the pastor does not get between the two sides, or else both sides will take pot-shots at the pastor. Let them work out and adjust their hybrid plan together. You can be the coach, but for success they must be the players.

Step 6: Evaluate. This is a key step, that is often neglected.

Evaluation adjusts strategies and increases impact. And, if you are going to adjust your strategies it is good to have both the status quo and change proponents doing the adjusting. So, just like in Steps 3 and 5, get together the two sides (after a month or so, sooner is better) and ask them to talk about what is working and what is not. Ask them to adjust their hybrid-plan.

Step 7: Bathe the whole process in prayer and listen to God.

Both sides should be encouraged to pray, since the status quo and the change proponents, really in their hearts want the same thing: a church that is healthy and growing. Remember, when Jesus prayed for those that would follow Him down through history

He prayed for our unity and for impact, praying “that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (John 17:20-21)

Bob Whitesel is nationally-rec-ognized church revitalization consultant, who holds a Ph.D. from Fuller Seminary on church change and has been called by a national magazine “the chief spokesperson on change theory in the church today.” In addition to consulting he serves as found-ing professor of Wesley Seminary at Indiana Wesleyan University and their professor of Missional Leadership.

For more details on the “7 Steps” or information on church revital-ization and growth consultations with Dr. Whitesel, visit www.BobWhitesel.com

Bob Whitesel is the author of over 11 books and serves as the president of C3 International.

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I am a huge proponent of launch-ing large churches, if it is done well. The problem is that it is not always done well. Not every church planter is called to or gift-ed for launching a large church. Not every church planter is con-nected or funded well enough to successfully launch large. The result is many needless church planting “failures” do to a lack of financial resources.

When I first came to Orlando in 2002, I met with Ed Stetzer, who had just compiled some research on the survivability of new church plants in East Or-ange County, FL. Ed had tracked the progress of 40 church plants over a five year period in what was supposed the be one of the hottest church planting regions of the country. Ed told me that he had dubbed East Orange County as “the church planter’s graveyard.” Out of 40 church plants, only 5 had made it to the five-year mark. Intrigued by Ed’s findings, I set out discover why so many church plants had failed in the fastest growing region of the second fastest growing city in the nation.

Through personal interviews with church planters and my own observations, I discovered that these church plants (and many others following them) did not fail because they failed to reach people. They simply failed to raise enough money. Almost all of these church plants were using

the same techniques and they were receiving the same results. In my non-scientific study, I dis-covered that the common de-nominators of the failed church plants were:

1. They relied heavily on mass marketing2. They over-estimated community response3. They under-estimated the cost of church planting4. They under-budgeted5. They over-estimated the giving potential of the people of their target community6. They ran out of money even though they had plenty of people

I just happened to show up at a Sunday gathering of one these churches on the day that the church planter was telling a crowd of 300 people that this was their last Sunday and not to come back. It was as if he was saying, “Since we’ve run out of money, you are no longer a church.” They could not afford to pay the rental fee on the movie theatre where they were meeting and they could no longer afford to pay the salaries of their two full-time leaders.

This got me to thinking more about how much it costs to start a church in North America. Most church planting strategists would agree that a successful large church launch will cost anywhere from $300,000 to $500,000 a

year in a major city. It usually takes 70-100 committed adults in a launching large core group to provide the funding and the workers needed to have a suc-cessful, sustainable large church launch. It also takes a uniquely gifted leader to enlist the people and financial resources to make this happen. Even then, success is not guaranteed.

In my initial interview with pro-spective church planters, I usually ask them if they see themselves enlisting 100 committed adult volunteers and raising at least $300,000 before ever holding a public gathering of the church. If they say no, then I say, “then don’t try.” Not every person called to church planting is called to launch a large church. And, if you are not called to launch large, then don’t do it.

The alternative is to start a no-overhead church. They are sometimes called organic, rab-bit, or house churches (although many do not actually meet in homes). These churches do not spend money on renting a meeting space or paying a pas-tor’s salary. They really have no overhead at all and their biggest financial problem is trying to figure out what to do with all of the tithes and offerings that they receive from their members. If you have 3 or 4 families tithing to a church that literally has no expenses, what do you do with all of that money? Let’s just say

Launching Large or Remaining Relational: Two Legitimate Approaches to Church Planting by Mark Weible

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that you have a lot more money to give to mission causes than churches that have high over-head expenses.

Launch day for a launching large church plant is like the grand opening of a Home Depot. Ev-erything is in place and available on day 1. These churches appeal to the consumer-driven culture. This culture does not understand organic growth. They are used to showing up at big box retail store on opening day to see all that it has to offer. There is no expec-tation that the big box store is going to grow and increase it’s offering of products and services in the future. If you don’t have it on day one, you never will. This culture views the church in the same way.

Organic churches start small, grow relationally and, like rabbits, multiply quickly. These churches appeal to the relational culture. They are like the mom and pop stores where everyone knows everyone else. They don’t expect the church to be able to meet all of their needs on day 1, or ever. But they like the simplicity, the authenticity and the relational aspects of the church.

Both of these models are legit. They are meeting different needs for different cultures. A third model, that I don’t recommend is the middle approach - when a church planter realizes that he hasn’t recruited enough peo-

ple or raised enough money to launch large, but he tries to do it any way. What he ends up with is a church that is too large to be relational, but not large enough to be sustain itself financially. People attending the middle churches feel uncomfortable because of all of the empty chairs and the lackluster approach. The church looks like a failure on day 1 and it is hard to gain enough momentum to grow out of that stage.

That is why that I recommend that church planters either commit to successfully launch-ing a large church and doing it very well or choose to go the organic route. Organic church planters are missionally-vocation-al and don’t need a salary. They view their jobs as their relation-ship-building, gospel-sowing and disciple-making mission field. They model a form of leadership that is easily reproducible. They quickly train-up new leaders and celebrate the departure of families that leave to plant other churches. Their churches meet in places that a free to low-rent and when they fill them up – they move on or start new churches.

If your church does not have enough

qualified leaders to carry on your cur-

rent ministry and to start more churches,

then the church is not following the

biblical commands to develop new

leaders. Multiplying churches allow new

leaders to lead. That means that current

leaders need to give their leadership

away to the next generation.

~Mark Weible

Mark Weible is Strategic Director of RenovateConference.org and Directional Leader of ReprodcuingChurches.com. Mark also serves as Director of Church Planting for Greater Orlando Baptist Asso-ciation in Orlando Florida. He is a Search Engine Optimization master trainer and Google Adwords professional marketer.

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What’ s Right with the Church: A manifesto of hope

Despite confessed and observed weaknesses and a mocking portrayal of the church in Amer-ica today, Dr. Towns purposes in his book to look at the strengths of the local church, to point out what the church is doing right, and to show where weaknesses can be addressed and growth in these areas can occur. I have seen and experienced what is wrong with the church. But in spite of imperfect people, I have also seen what is right with the church. Dr. Towns examines 12 areas of church life and exposes the doctrine and theology be-hind these 12 components. He provides real life examples and suggestions for steps to take to become fruitful and healthy. Dr. Towns does not focus on the “nickels and noses” or “buildings and bucks” or context or cultur-al issues, but engages with the Bible on God’s calling for what the church is and can become in any setting. The principles of this book can be applied to any city, town, village, state, or country. What’s Right With the Church is a wonderful, thoughtful, and Bibli-cally sound book. It is perfect for the church library, church lead-ers, and Christians in general. It is also a good book for those who

want information on what to look for when seeking a church home.

The church should be the great-est “gathering” on earth because it is the Body of Christ, yet many people view the modern church as anemic and powerless— or worse, harmful and possibly dangerous. Why? Perhaps most postmodern Americans believe that the church is simply a belief system like Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam; they lump Christianity with all the other religions, and suspect that it’s all about rules to control people’s behavior. Or maybe the media’s politically cor-rect agenda, which denies super-natural Christianity and explains away God’s authority found in the Bible, has distracted people from recognizing the church as a transformative force for good in the world. Elmer Towns suggests that the Body of Christ is at its best when it focuses on Jesus . . . and he delivers the good news that there are many churches who are doing just that! In What’s Right with the Church, Dr. Towns takes you on a tour of churches that are carrying forward the Early Church’s mission and trans-forming their communities, in spite of media skepticism and cultural cynicism. These local bodies look different from one another, but they are each “get-ting church right” in similar ways. Dr. Towns contends that there are a few essentials that, when the church gets them right, ensure that the Body of Christ moves forward in its mission with power

and purpose. These basics in-clude the Bible, sin, worship, serv-ing and the Great Commission—and, of course, Jesus Christ! Celebrate what God is continuing to accomplish through the global church, and find out how your local fellowship can join with Him to transform the world.

ELMER TOWNS is Vice Presi-dent and Dean of the School of Religion at Liberty University, which he co-founded in 1971 with Jerry Falwell. He teaches the 2,000-member pastor’s Sunday School class at Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, VA. Towns is a Gold Medallion Award-winning author and his books include Fasting for Spiri-tual Breakthrough and How to Pray When You Don’t Know What to Say. Elmer and his wife, Ruth, have three grown children.

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Preparing for Change Reaction: How to introduce change in your churchYou will want to order this in-credible book! Bob Whitesel is the great thinker today when it comes to institutional change within the local church. His wis-dom and depth of experience in church revitalization rings clear throughout this work. This book will make you consider how you are leading change in your local church and pray about how you might bring an added dimension to your process once you have read this work. If you are going to work towards change then do not forget the chapter on staying connected to those you serve as a church revitalizer.

Bob has led the charge for the cause of church growth for over three decades. He is a seasoned communicator and wise mentor for any church needing to bring about change. These chapters are filled with practical steps and sage advice to help you make the necessary changes without loos-ing your job and your ministry calling. In a day where the local laity of any church is desperate to see changes which will bring about renewal, this wonderful

addition to the cause of revital-ization is welcomed. Sometimes laity are full of frustrations re-garding the situation of their church and they take it out on the one who has been called to lead the revitalization effort. Bob will help you navigate these diffi-cult waters while providing godly leadership to your followers.

Bob Whitesel (D.Min., Ph.D.) is a speaker, award-winning writer and popular professor on organ-ic outreach, church leadership and church health; who has been called by a national mag-azine: “the key spokesperson on change theory in the church today.” He serves as Professor of Christian Ministry and Missional Leadership for Wesley Seminary at Indiana Wesleyan University and holds two earned doctorates (D.Min. and Ph.D.) from Fuller Theological Seminary. He is the 2007 recipient of the “Donald McGavran Award for Outstanding Leadership in Church Growth” and was awarded by the faculty of Fuller Theological Seminary the “2009 Donald McGavran Award for Outstanding Schol-arship in Church Growth.” He currently serves as president of the Great Commission Re-search Network as well as a board member for The Society of Church Consulting. He is the president of C3 International (Creative Church Consulting, Intl.). He is a sought-after writer, speaker, consultant, and lecturer

on the organic emerging church, church management, and church growth. For more info visit www.BobWhitesel.com

revitalizerLIBRARY

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Tribal Leadership & Church Revitalization by Kenneth Priest

Much is presently being written on the topic of church revitaliza-tion. Many speakers and writers are addressing the crisis church issues. However, what about the rest of the churches in need of revitalization? The ones who are not in crisis situation; typically seen as the plateauing church-es; but some of the declining churches as well.

Most revitalization experts agree it takes 1000 days, or three years, to turn around a church. In some scenarios, there is not enough time to go slow…but what if there were? What is the ideal revitalization strategy shift in a church that has a life expectancy of four, five, or even more years left? What should a leader do?

My opinion, this is where tribal leadership comes in. Understand, this is not a new concept. This terminology may not have been used in the past, but the philos-ophy has. The thesis idea is this; become a part of the tribe, before trying to do too much.

Simple right?! Until you are in the scenario.

Most revitalizers are high capac-ity leaders. They are not satisfied with the status quo, especially when the status quo is not en-gaging the community for the cause of Christ. So what should a leader do that has time and wants to rightly effect change

and not lose the “shareholders”. (Shareholder is an affectionate term I use to describe the per-sons in the church who are essen-tially bankrolling the ministry. Too often these are the ones who immediately get marginalized during a change of pastoral lead-ership; and pastors get frustrated when they leave and the budget is no longer there to support the ministry. Often, pastors even ac-cuse these persons of being spir-itually immature for leaving and are critical, when the reality is, the pastor did not involve them in the decision making and truly lead as a servant leader being the undershepherd God intended for the pastor to be).

Tribal leadership is the art of joining the tribe in order to bring about change without losing those presently engaged and in-volved in ministry…this is tough; but needed.

The difficulty of becoming a part of the tribe is, it takes time. This is why you cannot use this method in a crisis situation, but where time permits, use it to your ad-vantage. Join the tribe, become the pastor they talk about and love and then begin to offer rec-ommendations for change. You will use your honeymoon phase to initiate a couple of immediate, necessary strategy shifts; but save your big capital for when they have accepted you as part of them. No one can tell you

exactly when this happens; but philosophically, this is when they want you doing the weddings and funerals, and not the previ-ous pastor. This can take upwards of three or more years to achieve. But when it does, you are the pastor and leader of the tribe.

Step One – Learn who the influencers are, both positive and negative (in these longer revitalization scenarios, they are typically both present). Whether a matriarch or patriarch; church treasurer or deacon, make certain you get to know these persons and their circles of influence. The hidden relationships are often the ones causing the most is-sues for pastors. As a pastor, you should know whom all influenc-ers are connected to before you make any decisions. When deal-ing with a positive influencer, if the person is on your side…you just got buy-in from the majority. Likewise, the same is true for your negative influencer…you can will have an uphill battle without buy-in here.

Step Two – Learn your person-al leadership style…and adjust when necessary. Fox example, I have a personality that is a high director and high analytical. This means I make decisions quickly based on data I have assessed and make judgments based on performance. If a ministry is showing success, my leader-ship style leans toward focusing

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attention in this area because it is performing well. The prob-lem with this model, other areas might get neglected, simply be-cause I have evaluated a success driven through performance…in this scenario, some of my share-holders might get left on the sidelines, feel marginalized and ultimately leave the church. A revitalizer must know his tenden-cies and strive to overcome them. Certainly, in a crisis scenario, a high director/analytical leader will do great. However, in these longer time revitalization sce-narios, it might be best if I adjust my style; move out of my core and rely on God to use me to focus on functioning more as an inspirational leader to motivate the weaker areas to have similar impact or more on the analytical to determine why we are having more of an impact in one area over another. The life lesson here is, do not go around with the attitude of “this is how I am, and others need to adjust to me” but rather, demonstrate the leader-ship styles of Christ and lead for the given situation you are in as a servant leader.

Step Three – Know your demo-graphics. Not just of the commu-

nity, but of the church. Under-stand who your people are and who you need to reach. Example: I once was working in a revital-ization situation as a consultant. In meeting with the pastor I learned, like many of us, he was a creature of habit. He came and left church the exact same way every day he was there. Why?! Because they were just off the exit of a major interstate. That was the fastest way to go; why take backstreets? In accepting my challenge to “know your demo-graphics” (one of my exercises to have the pastor and church lead-ers go on a prayer walk around the church neighborhoods), the pastor learned who his church was, and who they were not reaching. Namely the Vietnam-ese community which was two blocks behind the church. This was an eye-opening experience for him.

Step Four – I do not want to under or overstate this, but develop a plan. Strategies are not wrong. Planning is not wrong. Look at creation; God’s plan is intricate and specific. Man could not be created on the first day since there was no place for him. Pastors and churches need plans for reaching their communities. Determine who needs to be reached (from step three) and develop a plan.

Step Five – Execute the plan. Churches that are succeeding in church revitalization are actually doing what they set out to do. This is the Great Commission; Je-sus set us on a strategy to engage the nations for his cause from the beginning…and that is simply what we need to do.

Kenneth Priest serves as the Director of Convention Strategies for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. He holds a Doctor of Educational Ministry degree with an emphasis in Church Revitalization from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Kansas City, MO.



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“Danger, Will Robinson!”: Dangerous Threats to the Church Revitalization Movement

One could hardly deny that there is a grand new movement in the American church, which crosses geographical, socio-econom-ic, and even denominational boundaries. Interest in the Church Revitalization Movement can be found predominantly among the smallest churches, which are struggling to survive; but there is growing interest in the movement with the leaders of the largest churches, as these leaders have noticed a halt in their church’s growth. In short, the smaller the church, the more interest exists in revitalization with laypeople; conversely, the larger the church, the more the interest is found with the church’s leadership.

Perhaps not since the begin-nings of the Church Growth movement has there been such an excitement among church leaders about the prospects for the church. Admittedly, not every church leader has embraced this new movement, but a substantial percentage see the importance of addressing the decline of the existing church.

It is important to keep the Church Revitalization Movement going and not allow this work to fall prey to the errors that will kill it. If we are wise, we will look to the mistakes of past movements and put safeguards in place now to prevent the premature death of the Church Revitalization Move-ment. I would like to enumerate six, specific dangers to the move-ment.

Correct ChriostologyThe first danger, as we learned from the Missional Church Move-ment, is that any true movement

in His church must be founded upon a correct Christology. If we get the our theology wrong, our ecclesiology will be wrong. Alan Hirsch and Michael Frost say this well in The Shape of Things to Come. They argue that our Chris-tology informs our missiology, which in turn determines our ec-clesiology. If we allow our notions of what the church should be to taint our understanding of what the church should do, we are not authentic disciples of Christ. In essence, if the church’s concen-tration is on its forms, leadership style, governance, furniture, worship style, Bible translation, timing of its services, etc., it is not concentrating on the headship of Christ and His mission for the church. Put simply, how can the church be the church if a church does not do what the church does? What we do and what the church looks like must be based upon our theological beliefs.

Numbers for Numbers’ SakeA plethora (and I use that word intentionally) of mistakes were made in the Church Growth Movement, and yet it is still with us. One of these mistakes is the second danger – an unhealthy concentration on numbers for numbers’ sake. Wide is not deep. Bill Hybels confessed that while his church became broad in num-bers, it was not composed of vast numbers of healthy disciples. As an alternative, we should concen-trate on developing discipleship in the church. Wouldn’t we as church leaders prefer to have a smaller group of dedicated disciples than a larger group of shallow attendees? Church lead-ers always desire more, that is a

natural desire, but how we get more is also a critical concern. In the case of the church, the ends do not justify the means. How we get there is just as important as getting there.

Personal InterestsThe third danger affronting the Church Revitalization Movement is one that plagued other move-ments – the rampant develop-ment of the personal interests of those who led it. In the past, key leaders in thriving churches received an inordinate amount of praise and recognition. They were invited to write books, speak at conferences, and teach in aca-demia. Many of these leaders prospered professionally and financially from their success. This is what Thomas O’Dea called the “dilemma of mixed motivation.” Not that any of those things is wrong or improper in itself, however they can be improper motivation, and they often lead to squabbling among leaders about the meaning of words (e.g. revitalization, renewal, refresh-ing) and the future course of the movement. The surprising thing that I have discovered while working in the field of church re-vitalization is that no one person has all the answers. Like a jigsaw puzzle, there are a thousand pieces to the complete picture and no one has all the pieces. I genuinely like the personalities who are leading the Church Revi-talization Movement, but I intend to help keep all of them firmly grounded in humility, so that the only entity that prospers is the church, and the only one glori-fied is the Lord Jesus Christ.

by Terry Rials

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Making the Movement AcedemicThe fourth danger I mentioned briefly before. One way that a movement begins to wane is when it is moved into the acad-emy. Church Revitalization is a ministerial practice that involves copious amounts of prayer, personal sacrifice, and personal leadership development. I con-fess that I went to the seminary to understand church revitaliza-tion, earning my doctorate in that concentration. However, I can assure you that academia is not a cure for pastoral frustration; the demands of academic pursuits may take a serious toll on your ministry; it did in my setting. Allow me to say it this way – church revitalization cannot be just an academic pursuit. Instead, it is an applied ministry pursuit, requiring the heart of a pastor and countless hours of hard work on the church field, not just in the church office.

Methodology over ScriptureThe fifth danger occurs when methodology and pragmatism, rather than the dictates of scrip-ture, determine the movement’s course. Concentrating on the process of revitalization can even lead to sequentialism, the belief that if one follows linear, step-by-step processes, then revital-ization will occur in the church. It is common for church leaders, many of whom are excellent stra-tegic planners, to think, plan, and act in sequential steps. This kind of thinking will be deadly to the Church Revitalization Movement. Our job as church leaders is not

to grease the machinery in order to keep the organization going and growing; instead, our job is to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Our job as leaders is not to lay out step-by-step directions for other to follow. Our job is to lead others back to the heart of God and trust His leadership in their lives. If the church comes back to life and vi-tality, it will be a spiritual process, and not a mechanical one.

The work of God in the ProcessThe sixth and final danger is ob-vious to me. If the Church Revi-talization Movement is to survive and thrive, we cannot ignore the work of God in the process. Let me emphasize, there is a work that we do (revitalization) and a work that only God can do (revival). I define revitalization as the work we do to ensure the conditions of God are met for revival, so that the people of God are prepared when He begins to move. We need a genuine, Spir-it-led revival in the church – we need God to do what only God can do, revive the church! I be-lieve in the importance and need for both revitalization and revival in the Lord’s church today. Revi-talization is preparatory to revival and subsequent to it. Borrowing from G. Campbell Morgan, we must put up our sail and wait for the wind to blow. When the wind begins to blow, we make use of the wind and allow it to drive us.

I am not a prophet, nor a son of a prophet, but I predict that there will be difficult days ahead for the Church Revitalization Movement, primarily because the enemy

will be actively attacking those associated with it. This should not dissuade us from the work at hand, if anything it should com-pel us to press on with an even greater fervor. we should take our enemy’s opposition as proof that we are on the right track. If we are wise, we will recognize the dangers that lay ahead. Those who stand in the pulpit should know this intuitively, but if not, let me remind you again. Sailors who stand out on the pulpit of the ship were placed there to recognize the dangers under the surface of the water as the ship comes into the harbor, and to warn others about that danger. May we as church leaders watch vigilantly for these dangers and stand ready to ring the bell.

Terry Rials serves as the Senior Pas-tor of the Crestview Baptist Church of Oklahoma City, and he serves as the Church Revitalization Team Leader for Capital Baptist Associa-tion in Oklahoma. He is a frequent conference speaker and teacher, leading church revitalization efforts in his state and nationally. You can contact Terry at [email protected].

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Fish: The Objective for Fishers of Men by Rob Myers

“Follow me and I will make you fishers of men!” Matthew 4:19

Jesus recruited Simon Peter because he was a leader and he wanted to make a difference with his life. Peter left his nets at the shore because he was ambitious and wanted to reign, as did the others, with Jesus when He would take over leadership of the coun-try and kick out the Romans.

Recruiting – Fishing for Men

‘Recruit? Sure I recruit for you’, Peter must have thought to him-self. It would not be until after the resurrection, the ascension and finally Pentecost, that Peter would grasp what the initial call was about…fishing for men in-deed!

We are to win souls. God is after every soul of His crowning achievementin creation, man. He desires a restored rela-tionship with all who will come to Him. God chooses to use man as His net, hooks and lures to accom-plish this task. He chooses to use us – and equips us with His Holy Spirit for the task.

This is an incredible loving act. We are engaged to see others lives changed for the better, forever. We are on the front lines seeing the impact on this realm

and knowing the eternal impact beyond. We get the chance to share the love and truth that set us free from the bonds of slavery to sin and a certain fate of eternal separation from God. But we had someone who loved us enough to recruit, i.e. share the gospel with us. Now it’s our turn.

Will we obey and serve Him in recruiting others to the Kingdom of Heaven?

The Prime Objective

Being fishers of men was the real objective. Think about it… Why didn’t God just “zap” us up to heaven at the point of our salva-tion?

It’s all about the fish – the people. God wants souls. It’s all about the fish. They are our prime ojective. Not our personal feelings, or our needs or desires.

Why did He leave us here on this earth? In His sovereignty He had to know that we would fall into sin frequently; he knew that many would suffer gruesome deaths; He knew that others, yet, would succumb to horrid accidents and disease, heartache and pain.

Wrapping it up!God’s plan, therefore, has to be greater than our sickness, pain or suffering and in that God is not capricious, our reason for being on this earth has to be very sig-nificant. As I see it, there are only two things that you cannot do in heaven that you can do here on earth. One of them is sin, and we know that’s not what God wants. The other thing you cannot do in heaven is to lead people to Christ. God’s purpose for us as an “Ekk-lessia” (a group of people called on a unified purpose), is to rec-oncile the world to himself (2 Cor 5:19 – see above). Fishing is our purpose and equipping and mo-tivating the people to fish is the leader’s mission. Winning people to Christ is the prime objective.

Rob Myers serves as the lead pstor and church revitalizer for the Miami Baptist Church. He is the national host of the The Xristos Factor: A Ra-dio Ministry of Relevant topics with a Biblical perspective.

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