The Church Revitalizer Magazine Feb-Mar 2016

Feb/Mar 2016

Vol 2 Issue 1

THE CHURCHRevitalizer

The only magazine dedicated to Church Revitalization. ~ Tom Cheyney

A Revitalization Retreat in Every Issue

Being All In for Church Revitalization!

70 Church Revitalization Workshops35 National Church Revitalization Speakers 4 Breakout Session Opportunities 4 Main Sessions by Revitalization Practitioners 5 Pre-Conference Intensive Subjects1500+ Fellow Church Revitalizers

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RENOVATENational Church Revitalization Conference

November 1-3, 2016Orlando, FL

RenovateConference.org

Speakers IncludeEd StetzerBill EasumTom CheyneyDavid LemaLee KricherLarry WynnTerry RialsRon EdmondsonBob Whitesel

Church RevitalizationCONFERENCES

February 11 Criswell CollegeSeptember 8 Northeast Houston BC

Tom CheyneyFounder & Directional LeaderRenovate National ChurchRevitalization Conference

Lance CrowellDiscipleship & OnlineStrategies, SBTC

Micah FriesVP, LifeWay Research

Lance BeaumontWorship Strategies, SBTC

Kenneth PriestDirector of ConventionStrategies, SBTC

Nathan LinoSenior Pastor,NE Houston BC

Bart McDonaldExecutive Director,SBT Foundation

Nathan LorickDirector of Evangelism,SBTC

Rod HarrisonDean of Post-GraduateStudies

sbtexas.com/revitalization

9am - 4pmCOST$20For pastors, associational leaders and church leaders with churches in need of revitalization.

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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 February / March | Vol 2, No 1

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Three Stones of Revitalizing PrayerBy Chris Irving

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42

The Power of S.I.M.P.L.E.R. Preaching to Affect More LivesBy Joel R. Breidenbaugh

Leg DayBy John Kimball

32 BARKING DOGS:Sparking Revitalization By Reducing Distractions By Lee Kricher


The Church Revitalizers Job of Changing Church Behavior By Tom Cheyney

Follow RENOVATE National Church

Revitalization Conference

on social media via:Facebook:

RenovateConferenceTwitter

#RenovateConference

5INSIDE THIS ISSUE

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Lessons from Jesus Miracles for Church Revitalization By Rob Arnold

Buy A House By Ron Smith

THE LEADERSHIP LINKBy Michael Atherton

Do You Have the Guts to Take on a Fixer Upper? By Darwin Meighan

10 Does God Expect Every Church to Grow? By Tracy Jaggers

16 Being All In for the Work of Revitali zation Abandonment By Greg Kappas

18 Environments Matter in Student Ministry By Drew Cheyney

26 Renewing the Revitalizer By Rodney Harrison

36 Mobilizing an Army of Church Revitalizers By Tom Cheyney

38 Reimagining your Childrens Ministry Volunteers By Bill Hegedus

40 Chefs Not Microwaves By Jim Grant

44 Conflict Avoidance & Resolution Basics for the Church Revitalizer By Bob Whitesel

50 Gods Unlikely Choices By Terry Rials

58 Being All In for Church Revitalization By Kenneth Priest

60 Start to Finish! By Mark Weible

62 Red Converse & Old Men By Rob Myers

BOOK REVIEWS

The Church Revitalizer Book Reviewer: Rob Hurtgen 57 Transforming Church in Rural America: Breaking all the Rurals. 57 Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less.

revitalizerLIBRARY

The only magazine dedicated to Church Revitalization.

Rob Hurtgen is the Pastor of First Baptist Church Chillicothe, Missouri. He holds an M.Div from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and is currently pursuing a Doctor of

Ministry degree in Church Revital-ization from MidWestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has been married to Shawn since 1995, and they have five children.

www.RenovateConference.org/bookstoreCheckout our lineup of resources that will help you revitalize your church.

RENOVATE Publishing Group

Your One Stop Shop forChurch Revitalization andRenewal Resources!

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8Welcome to the the Church Revitalizer Magazine: A Church Revitaliztion Retreat in Every Issue!

After a great inagurial year of having church members and revitalization pastors asking would the Renovate Publish-ing Group consider publishing a 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. During these issues we are assisting with a clearer understanding of revitalization terms. With the field of church revitalization and renewal expanding so quickly, here are a few of the key fundamental definitions to begin ones jour-ney:

Skunking: Skunking is the device that happens frequently within local church renewal efforts, when pessimistic church members spray negativity all over those creative church members who are trying to spark the renewal efforts of the church. A well-known example would be the tried but true expression by skunkers We tried that years ago and it did not work.

Three-self Standard: Used to describe indigenous churches which stand on their own two feet. Such churches are of-ten described as being self-supporting, self-governing and self-propagating.

Unfreezing Step: This step requires that individual church members be convinced to give up their old behaviors (forces for change must overcome forces against change) in favor of a new set of church behaviors.

Stay connected, more is coming...

This issue is focused around the Being All In for Church Revitalization!

ChurchRevitalizer.Guru by Tom Cheyney

Volume 2, No. 1The Church Revitalizer

is published bi-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

Digital Media ArchitectJosh Trotter

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

Subscriptions donations 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.


9ChurchRevitalizer.Guru by Tom Cheyney

Logos Bible Software delivers insight to you because you deliver insight to others, whether it be your congregation, classroom, or colleagues.

Visit Logos.com to get Logos 6 today.

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I just completed speaking for two Church Revitalization Labs with the Southern Baptst of Texas Convention. During the first lab I was asked by a pastor, Do you believe God expects every church to grow numerically? My first response was to thoughtlessly blurt out, Yes, but I restrained myself and responded cautiously by asking if I could get back to him during the next break.

Between that question and the lunch break, I researched for the biblical response, and here is how I answered: I firmly believe.

1) Every God-called pastor sin-cerely wants his church to grow.

2) The Great Commission verifies that this is the mission of the church.

3) A lack of growth is not natural someone who is mentally and/or physically challenged is known to be abnormal and is diagnosed with a type of disorder.

But What May Be Hindering a Rebound in your Church?

1) A pastor who wants to be the sole care-giver the church is a body that is expected to work TOGETHER. You and I are not to be Lone Rangers.

2) A Lack of Vision on the part of the leader and/or congrega-tion.

3) A Lack of Planning, Strategy, Process, Systems, etc.

4) Workers who are untrained and/or unempowered to do the work of the ministry.

5) A leader who Micromanages nothing happens without his approval and therefore, noth-ing happens!

6) Too many meetings, or worth-less, unproductive meetings.

7) A lack of adherence to the mission, values, vision and purpose of the church.

8) An Internal focus rather than an external, community-cen-tered focus.

We usually falter and fail because were not growing in maturity and unity. In a speech given to the Presbyterians for Renewal, Mark D. Roberts, Executive Direc-tor of the Max De Pree Center for Leadership at Fuller Seminary, pastor and author, said, One cannot read Ephesians with an open mind and not conclude that the church of Jesus Christ is supposed to be growing in size as well as strength. I concur!Ephesians 4:14-16 says, As a re-sult, we are no longer to be chil-dren, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceit-ful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for

the building up of itself in love. Even Jesus, in Luke 2:52, kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and favor with men (italics mine). As our perfect example, we see that He grew in all aspects as well.

Growth is not confined to one dimension of the Body of Christ, just as it is not confined to one dimension of our own individual life. If we grow physically, but not mentally, we are abnormal. If we are not growing physically, mentally, socially, relationally, etc. we are looked upon as abnormal. We, as the Body of Christ, are to be maturing/growing spiritually, socially, relationally, evangelisti-cally, economically, numerically, etc. in unified effort. The church that is not growing in every aspect is abnormal and has a problem that must be diagnosed and corrected.

The Bride who is maturing and unified in obedience to Christ WILL GROW in all aspects into Him Who is the Head. Lets get GOING and GROWING for the Kingdom.

Does God Expect Every Church to Grow? by Tracy Jaggers

Growth is not confined to one

dimension of the Body of Christ, just as it is not confined to one dimension

of our own individual life.

RENOVATE RESOURCES ALL YEAR LONG

If your church has plateaued, is in decline, or is not moving forward as quickly as you wish, the RENOVATE Church Revitalization Coaching Network is just what you are looking for. This Revitalization Coaching Network is designed to help you and your revitalization team develop a successful 18 month plan to increase church attendance, develop new people for ministry, impact community, solidify finances, become more missional, develop new ministries and deepen the making of disciples within your church renewal effort. RenovateConference.org/coaching-network

Each and every week, the RENOVATE National Church Revitalization Podcast publishes a free audio training covering various aspects of church revitalization and renewal. Hosted by Tom Cheyney, each podcast features content for this weeks edition of his Church Revitalization and Renewal training. Included in this series of equipping tools are interviews with key Church Revitalizers and in-depth commentary and analysis from pastors, revitalization coaches, laity, and practitioners in the field of church revitalization and renewal.

Church Revitalization / Church Planting RenovateConference.org/bookstore

RenovateConference.org/podcast

A Revitalization Retreat in Every IssueRenovateConference.org/magazine

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by Rob ArnoldLessons from Jesus Miracles for Church Revitalization

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The Gospel of John records only seven miracles of Jesus. John wrote several years after Mat-thew, Mark, and Luke, so he nar-rates facts that the other gospel authors overlooked. John must believe, therefore, that the seven miracles as especially important for the nascent Church of God. As modern believers, we are quick to apply these lessons to our personal lives, but we can relate them to our churches as well. If we take these seven lessons to heart, we will be able to start down the road of church revital-ization.

Jesus first miracle was turning water into wine (John 2:1-11). It teaches that Christ can take something ordinary and turn it into something extraordinary. When applied to the church, this means that members of church are new creations in God. The church must embrace its special identity. So many churches, how-ever, have a poor self-image. Con-sequently, nothing distinguishes them from the world around them. They have lost sight of the fact that God has transformed lost people into the New Testa-ment Church and the Temple of God. According to Peter, we are a chosen generation, a royal priest-hood, a holy nation, and His own special people (1 Pet. 2:9 NKJ). We arent common like water, but we are valuable like good wine; we offer something no one else can give forgiveness and a personal relationship with God. Before revitalization can occur, the church must embrace her unique identity in Christ and

realize that God uses the church to spread His gospel throughout the world.

Jesus second miracle was heal-ing the son of a government official (John 4:46-54). It teaches that we must trust Christ and take Him at His word. In the story, a father comes to Jesus because his son is very ill. He begs Jesus to go with him to heal his son, but Jesus chooses to heal the boy over a distance. When Jesus tells the father He has healed his son, the government official took Jesus at his word. The man believed Jesus and started home (Jn. 4:50). He trusted Jesus de-spite having no direct evidence. Similarly, God cannot revitalize a church until the people trust Jesus and His promises. A con-gregation that requires proof and answers to every question will never experience renewal. For church revitalization to occur, members and church leaders must step out in faith and trust God before they have all the answers.

Jesus third miracle was healing the lame man at the pool of Si-loam (John 5:1-15). It teaches us that we need to have a sense of urgency and we must want to be healed. When Jesus stood before the lame man, He asked, Do you want to be healed? This appears to be an obvious question, but not so. In declining churches, people are often secretly satisfied with the status quo and uncom-fortable with the idea of change. They pay lip-service to concepts of renewal but have no inward

conviction. Before revitalization can occur, a congregation must have a sense of urgency, have a willingness to leave their comfort zone, and say yes to change.

Jesus forth miracle was feed-ing five thousand people with a childs loaves and fishes (John 6:1-11). It teaches us that we must surrender control and yield everything to God, no matter how small. God can stretch a churchs limited resources and do a great work, but He must be in control. God wants the church to use its resources for the people around them instead of themselves. In other words, God blesses us so we can bless others. Before revitalization can occur, the church leaders and members must relinquish control and place their ministry to other people as their top priority.

Jesus fifth miracle was walking on water (John 6:24-34). It teach-es us to refocus on Christ and launch out in a new direction. In this story, the disciples are so focused opon the storm that all they can think about is survival. Similarly, floundering churches will circle the wagons and live in survival mode. Their problems consume their attention. Instead of focusing on their problems, however, they need to turn their eyes to Jesus. He is never far away, and after they regain their focus, they need to follow Peters example and eagerly launch out by faith in a new direction. The danger, however, is greatest after they make their course change. Like Peter, people may panic

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and become distracted on new problems. At that point, they may have second thoughts and wish to return to the old ways. A church, though, should nev-er take their eyes off Jesus, but should pray for help and allow Christ to strengthen them to stay the course. Before revitalization can occur, a congregation must refocus their attention on Christ, step out in faith, an persevere when they face new obstacles.

Jesus sixth miracle was heal-ing a blind man (John 9:1-11). It teaches us that we need a renewed sense of vision and mission. Proverbs 29:18 explains, Where there is no vision, the people perish. Like blind Barti-maeus, congregations can be-come spiritually blind or near-sighted. They lose sight of the reason God placed them in their community. Christ is moving in their midst and they cant see Him either; nor can they see the needs of their community. Before renovation can occur, they need to ask Christ to heal their eyes, remove the blinders, and restore their vision and sense of mission.

Lastly, Jesus seventh miracle was raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1ff). It teaches us that Christ can use even a dead church. A church may need to die before it can live again. Consultants may prefer the term restart, but the effect is the same. Churches in the dying stage of the church growth cycle often linger too long. Instead of using up valuable commodities (like a church facility) as they try to maintain a dying church on life-support, it is better to

close the church with dignity. The members should celebrate past accomplishments, close the church doors, and then another mission-minded congregation to reopen the doors as a new church. Members from the previous church can even be a part of the new congregation if they are willing to embrace new leadership and a new vision. Un-fortunately, in dire cases, church revitalization can occur only after the old has passed away and all things are new.

In conclusion, the seven miracles of Jesus teach us seven import-ant lessons. We must embrace our identity

as the people of God We must trust God and take Him

at His word We must passionately want

Jesus to heal us

We must surrender everything to Gods control

We must refocus on Christ and take a new direction

We must renew our vision and sense of mission

In extreme cases, we must seriously consider closing the doors and restarting with a new church

If the leadership and members of your declining church will apply the first six lessons and honest-ly consider the last, you will be taking the first steps on the road to church revitalization.

Rob Arnold, is the lead pastor of Lockhart Church and is a fre-quent breakout leader for the Renovate National Church Revital-ization Conference in Orlando. Rob has a heart for bringing the young back to the Son and seeing a renewed relevent church.

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Sometimes our greatest hindrance in ministry and all in/all out church revitalization, is simply ourselves. Well into our pastoral ministry or ministries, we simply find out things about ourselves through the sanc-tifying work of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Sometimes we see hid-den fears that we never realized in our life. Other times we stuff things at some point due to prior pain in our life and the Lord allows these ugly issues to rear up again. Jesus causes us to face our fears in ways we never anticipated.

It seems to me that a lot of what we face in our church leadership is simply a result of our very own walk with the Lord and what God is doing to purify us. Our ministry is often a reflection of our own walk. I find that churches that have an overall struggle with faith and believing God, are a reflection of the leader or leadership at large. I see this with angry men and angry churches. I see this with spineless men and wimpy churches. I see this with dominant men and dominant churches.

However, sometimes there are those unusual servant leaders and the churches are extraordinary. They are all inand all outoutward focus because they are inwardly secure in Jesus and all in on their commitment to see the church turned around for His glory. One of the issues, servant leaders face is dealing with Aban-donment. Not just Abandonment of their key men and women. Not just fear of Abandonment of the Finan-cial Secretary. Not just Abandon-ment of their accountability team, but Abandonment even in their own family. A spouse leaving and being seized with fear. A child going way-

ward and shattering all your prayers and dreams for that young man or woman.

What do we do when everything seems to fall apart and your most trusted loved ones have fled? Your best friend on the elder board or chairman of your deacon team un-dermines you then leaves before a process of understanding or healing is in place. What do we do when your beloved family caves in and simply want space from the ministry and situa-tions of dire trust in Jesus? What do we do?

Jesus was Abandoned by His most trusted disciples for a season. Paul was Abandoned by Demas (2 Tim. 4:9). Paul was Abandoned by Phy-gelus and Hermogenes (2 Tim. 1:15). Paul was even Abandoned by all who are in Asia in this same verse. But, thank Jesus there was Onesiph-orus who refreshed Paul and was not ashamed of Pauls sufferings and imprisonments. In fact, right after these words in verses 16-18 on The Refresher and Servant Leader One-siphorus Paul goes into the great passage on discipleshipsome-times God gives us one in a million to revitalize us and our ministry.

Look around, who is your Onesipho-rus? The individual may have been there all along, placed by God to remind you that King Jesus has not Abandoned you.

Yes, at times we cannot find the Onesiphorus in our life. Those times of refreshing belong simply be-tween you, God and no one else. Je-sus, felt Abandonment at the Cross by His and our Heavenly Father. At the point of ultimate obedience

through the Atonement Jesus had His Father turn His back on Him taking on the sins of the world (His Mission), but the Father did not turn on His Son personally. The Father cheered Jesus on through His burial, brief ministry between His death and Resurrection, the Empty Tomb, the appearances on earth and the Ascension. He now cheers the Son on in heavenand He cheers you on here on earth. God is for you.

Pastor, Church Leader, the Lord has not Abandoned you. As adopted sons and daughters of the King, you are royalty and not Aban-doned. Some of you are physically adopted. You know your greatest fears center around being Aban-doned for whatever reason by your birth parents. The feelings are real and come in waves and at times like the perfect storm. He is always there for you. He has not left you friend. Your heighted anxieties through physical adoption are calmed by Your Father in Heaven, your hero in Jesus and your power to forgive in the Holy Spirit. He has not left you. He wants you stronger to stand up against the winds and peril of finances being short, attendance wavering, people criticizing, leaders doubting the vision, and others simply given to all kind of fears. He wants you to live a life of ongoing forgiveness in relationships here on earth as we are forgiven by God. The Gospel shouts this out to us!

You see, along with His care for you personally He is caring for others and your joy and trust in Him amidst adversity and apparent Abandonment is forging you to be

Being All In for the Work of Revitalization AbandonmentBy Greg Kappas

Continued on Page 22

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Since we are in the year 2016, I would like to assume you have heard the saying that Environments Matter. It is the reason most of our churches have LED Lights, trusses, pop culture music, clean bathrooms (at least I hope), and so much more. But just in case, you have been out of the loop: ENVIRONMENTS 100% MATTER!

Now I know what some of you are thinking, environments only matter if you are that fancy church who has huge budgets, unlimited space, and has the time to think about consum-erism because of their deep staff. I hate to pop the proverbial bubble, so to speak, but Im actually talking about ALL churches. Let me ask you a selfish question that has nothing to do with your student ministry room, building, or even your church for that matter. Would you rather go to a restaurant that is clean, smells good, and is taken care of, or would you rather go to a restaurant that is trashed, smells like a chicken farm after it rains, and the paint is peeling off the walls? Ding, ding, ding I think the winner is option number one.

It always amazes me how so many student pastors think how some-thing looks does not matter. The truth is, every single first time guest & lost person who walks through your doors thinks your environment is important! It is because of these observations that the way your Student Ministry looks is crucial for you having a home base that people want to stay in for a couple hours plus each week.

So here is the dilemma, if people who attend our experiences think environments need to be great, why are very few of us actually executing that idea? Maybe your response is time, staffing, lack of resources,

or maybe you have never thought your environment and the way it is kept up sends a message. Andy Stanley, Lead & Founding Pastor of Northpoint Church, says this about environments, environments are the messages before the message.1 He follows up by saying, if you create an appealing setting for my middle school student, I will have a much easier time believing that you will present content that is relevant to his stage of life. Design, dcor, and attention to detail communi-cate whom you value.2 Whether we think environments matter or not, to those that give our experi-ences, events, and services a shot, it matters! Now you may be thinking about budgets, staffing, and other logistical barriers that keep you from pulling this off every week, but here are 4 specifics that every single student ministry can execute in their environments no matter the logisti-cal problems.

First, environments MUST BE CLEAN! The size of your church has no logistical barriers to cleanliness. Floors can be mopped, walls can be painted, trash can be taken out, supplies can be stored neatly or out of sight, and etc. This may be trivial to some, but there are plenty of student ministry environments that students and parents have looked at and have never come back to because the message that was being sent through an unclean room was you dont care.

Second, your environment MUST BE SAFE. Every time our students meet for their service experience I have a group of volunteers whose job it is to make sure our students are safe while on our property. Why? Because parents have entrusted

1 Stanley, Andy. Deep & Wide. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012. Print.2 Ibid, 170.

me with their students and at the very least, it is my responsibility to make sure they are safe while in our Student Ministries care. For you, safety may mean other things; may-be for your student ministry, safety has everything to do with ceiling tiles falling down, or sharp objects protruding, or maybe you have a sink hole in your parking lot like my church facility is starting to get. It does not matter what your thing(s) are, but what does matter is that you provide a safe environment.

Thirdly, your environment MUST BE FUN. No matter the budget, size, or space, your environment must be a place where fun is had. A Stu-dent Ministry that has fun creates a better environment and helps your students learn and practice a holis-tic kind of faith- one that sees the presence of God in everything. You may not have the LEDs you want or the flat screen TVs the church down the street has, but when your envi-ronment allows students and your leaders to have fun, that is a much bigger win/success.

Lastly, your environment MUST BE SIMPLE. While I, like many of you, want overcomplicated production packages, the newest and latest lighting models, and an experience that makes my whole community buzz, not everything always needs to look like the Mega-Church you admire or even compare your ministry to. To be matter of fact, its actually better if you cannot always do these things because it forces all of us as leaders to find our own DNA and rhythm in the student ministries we lead. So for example, pick the things you can excel at that are not ridiculously time consuming and overcomplicated and do those

Continued on page 36

Environments Matter in Student Ministry by Drew Cheyney

Available on

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So, you want to be a change agent in the church? You desire to change the status quo because in the pit of your stomach you get nauseated with the thought of a local church stuck in stagnation, dying in decline, or close to shutting its doors. When there are lives on the line, souls to be counted among the billions in glory, and churches not doing anything to reach them, you must count the cost and be all in for church revitaliza-tion. I am convinced by Gods Word that we must pray for the work of church revitalization.

John Piper has written, Prayeris the splicing of our limp wire into the lightning bolt of heaven. Pastor, is your prayer life spliced into the lightning bolt of heav-en? What if you were on a game show and had a choice to make? Three sets of keys to a new car and all you have to do is select the correct key to start that beauti-ful sports car. Youd want to make the right decision! R.A. Torrey rightly said that prayer is the key that unlocks all the storehouses of Gods infinite grace and power.

If you will take a few minutes the next time you sit down and study the Bible, you will find nowhere in the New Testament that ministry is initiated without prayer. Jesus always prayed before He healed, fed, or changed a persons life. There is a story in Mark 9:14-29 where Jesus commissioned the disciples to go out and perform the works of healing. But in this case, the disciples were not able to cast out the demon from this boy. His father came to Jesus and asked Jesus, if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us. Jesus reply, If you can! All things are possible for one who believes. The father replies, I believe; help my unbelief. Notice if you will, that the fathers attention is turned away from his son and on to his own situation. Pastor, how many times have you prayed for your church to turn around, for the Holy Spirit to be poured out in revival and you start by saying, If you can Perhaps your eyes need to turn inward and you confess needs to be, I believe, help my unbelief.

Prayer is the key to unlock the storehouses of Gods grace to revitalization. Of all that Adrian Rogers is quoted as saying, his focus on prayer challenges us greatly when he says, The greatest problem we face is not unanswered prayer but unoffered prayer. Have you offered the prayer of revitalization?

At the conclusion of this story in Mark 9, the disciples ask Jesus why they could not drive out the evil spiritand his response is, This kind can only be driven out

by prayer. You see, Jesus taught the disciples the impor-tance of communion with God the Father. He demon-strated and taught prayer, fasting, and the studying of Scripture.

No one would argue that Jesus actively and effectively prayed. He maintained His relationship with the Father through prayer and ultimately He has the power to heal, minister, power to drive out spirits, and most important-ly, the power to SAVE!

With my large family, we use mass quantities of batteries. I recently replaced an old battery with one that had a test strip on the outside. This test strip allowed me to see that the battery was fully powered. This led me to think about the old battery. It looked fine on the outside, but on the inside there was no power. This is your revitaliza-tion strategy without prayer. You can attend seminars, read books, blog, and post articles, but if you have no prayer life, you will run out of your own power. In fact, you cannot be all in for revitalization without a prayer life that has experienced revitalization!

If prayer is vital to revitalization, then what are the mark-ers of revitalizing prayer and what do we pray for? First, three stone markers to gauge your prayer life.

Prayer as a TouchstoneA touchstone is a piece of fine-grained stone used for the testing of alloys of gold by observing the color of the mark that they made on the stone. It served as a stan-dard by which the quality of gold would be judged. Your prayer life can be a touchstone. The disciples struggled with their lack of ability to do the work Jesus sent them to do. But the touchstone revealed a failure to pray. Prayer serves as the touchstone of revitalization. Strategy is vital, planning is key, but praying through these trying moments is where you will be able to observe if the strategy is working.

Prayer as a Whetstone The whetstone is a fine-grained stone used for the sharpening of cutting tools or knives. Prayer will sharpen your dependence upon God for this great adventure of revitalization. That nauseating gut feeling about the status quo is not there by chance. So let your prayer life be as a whetstone by using the Scripture to guide you. After all, Hebrews tells us that Scripture is as sharp as a double-edged sword, able to pierce into the depths of the soul. Prayer is that tool that God uses to sharpen you, the revitalizer and where He turns that nauseating

Three Stones of Revitalizing PrayerBy Chris Irving

feeling into action. It is difficult to cut anything with a dull blade, whereas a sharp blade allows one to make precision cuts. Spend time with the whetstone.

Prayer as a TombstoneYou know what a tombstone is and where you find them. Some are great big and grand, while others are small and barely legible, but they all sit on top of what used to be. That used to be someone who was alive and well but death caught up with them. If you read this and sense that your prayer life is marked by a tombstone, then STOP right now. Stop reading and pray that God will revitalize your prayer life right now!

Good! Praise God that your prayer life can be resurrect-ed like Lazaruss life out the grave. Take off those grave-clothes of wasted-time not seeking the Lord in prayer and pray!

In Back to the Future III, Marty McFly traveled back to 1955 only discover that his best friend, Doc Brown was sent back to 1885. But in 1955, Marty makes a grave dis-covery, a tombstone marking the location of Doc Brown. That tombstone sent Marty into action to travel back to 1885 to save his friend from certain death. Dont let the tombstone of a prayerless life send you into sense of depression and hopelessness. Let it call you to a sense of desperation to see and experience God bring revital-ization and renewal!

If you want to be all in for revitalization, take these all in steps to a vital prayer life

1) Pray I believe! Help my unbelief. If you pastor a church where unbelief resides, confess this right now. That father believed, but there were parts of him that lacked belief. Jesus said faith the size of a mustard seed can move a mountain. So its not the amount of faith and belief, but faith and belief itself that matters!

2) Pray for your purity. Right now, a very healthy and growing church in my area is on the verge of break-down because of the moral failure between two staff members. Pastor, revitalizer, nothing will tear down the work of the church faster than a pastor whose heart is not pure. Guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus. This is true for not only moral purity, but purity from personal pride that will wrongly swell as your church turns around. Make no mistake, you do not supply the power of turnaround.

3) Pray for your preaching. Every Sunday morning, I am blessed to have five men surround me and pray over me and for me. Do you have a team of people pray-ing for you as you preach the Word? This is especially important as you preach toward revitalization. If you are new to revitalization, there are many books to read, but

for preaching purposes Id strongly suggest you read Preaching Towards Church Revitalization and Renewal by Tom Cheyney and Lynn Wynn.

4) Pray for your people who do not believe. In Mat-thew 13, Jesus traveled to Nazareth. But He does not do many works because of the lack of faith the people possessed. He proclaimed the truth, did some work, but stopped because of their failure to believe. Pastor, you must not criticize your people, but plead for them before God that He will heal their unbelief.

5) Pray on purpose for purpose. Our strategies and methods may be different, but the purpose of the church remains. You must pray on purpose for purpose. As you pray on purpose for purpose, God will lead you to the strategy for making disciples in a revitalized church.

When you start praying about the work of revitaliza-tion, it wont be long until you are all in! When you pray, you will not just talk about revitalization, you will take action!

Thank you for answering the call to church revitaliza-tion. May God bless you and keep you as you walk the narrow road of church revitalization. I would like to remember you in my prayers, Revitalizer. If I can pray for you somehow, please email me at [email protected] and I will pray for you.

Chris Irving is the Lead Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Gonzales, TX. Chris has served in ministry for 15 years in Texas. He led a small rural church to revitalization and is currently involved in the revital-ization process of First Baptist Gonzales. He earned his Masters of Divinity at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and his Doctorate of Ministry in leadership studies at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Dr. Irving aims to help pastors equip the lay leadership of the church to serve in ministry. He and his wife, Amber have been married for 14 years and have six children.

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a Onesiphorus to another key leader God is bringing or has brought on the scene. Think about that! Your suffering is not just for you and your character, it is also for another or others. It is not only about eter-nal rewards from our gracious Father, but it is about eternal rewards for others in His kingdom. Your life may just be the turning point for an entire continent, as it was for Paul.

When your life reaches a point of desperation for God and no one else, you have just begun your full life and ministry here on earth. Your brokenness is exchanged for His power. Your lack of strength is now His strength in you. Your feelings of hopeless-ness are now returned with His hope. Your questions on whether it is worth it to hang on, pastoring this church is now forged with a determined call to the church or a clear call to another ministry, divine confi-dence in either way He leads you.

Your fears of not being paid this next week or having a short paycheck are now filled with faith that His provision comes in multiple means, not just through one measure. Your deep fears of Abandonment and that God has left you financially are now filled with trust that He is always there and will not forsake you. His provisions may come differently than you anticipated but He is a good Father and will take care of you, His child. He could be asking you to go to greater expanse in your leadership style. He could be shaping you to new levels where you will be raising support for part of your salary through others or may be taking on another job part time to help with the family costs. He may direct you beyond your comfort zone, but He is not Abandoning you.

You see, I grew up Abandoned by my birth father at 9 months old. He took off and left my mother and his family responsibilities, to be a black jack dealer at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Not exactly a pedigree I am happy to have. But, the Lord did a work in my life and gave me a forgiving spirit toward my birth dad, who died in his 50s right after receiving Jesus Christ into his life one month earlier. I was able to see him, forgive him and end life here on earth with the love and care that should always have been expressed. Even with that, sometimes I still struggle with forgive-ness toward my birth dad, but each time I go back to Jesus forgiving me so much that I clearly forgive John

Kappas, even in an ongoing manner. Forgiveness, may just be the most difficult part of the Christian life.

My lovely wife, Debbie and I have 2 children. Our oldest is biological and our youngest is adopted. Our youngest has had the normal and regular fears of Abandonment that adopted children have. She knows and feels our consistent love and always wanting herbut she still struggles and needs to draw near to Jesus.

Over the years, we have had leaders Abandon us, seek to undermine me and/or my wife, but we have learned to look for the jewels and thank them and the Lord for their remarkable, godly lives. Our mentor Al Broom taught us this through his own pain and forgiveness of others. When I left college, the Lord led me to turn down a pro-fessional baseball contract. That contract represented countless hours of work, but I knew He had a different plan for me and I was convinced that the funds would come in through other means as a missionary, pastor and church planter. Little did I know that God would choose a different pattern and allow us to go through hardship financially on a number of occasions in minis-try. That certainly was not my dream or my plan. But, He has provided in ways that we never dreamed. Through our brokenness, came His strength and a changed, more powerful ministry from the Holy Spirit. This is the point of greatest fear that I deal with. Will we be Abandoned financially, no matter how much I listen to the Lord and work hard? I know better, like you.

If God can use a son of a black jack dealer in Las Vegas, then there is great hope for you!

Lets be an Onesiphorus in our ministries and be all in and all out.

Greg Kappas leads the Timothy Initiative and is a frequent contributor to the Church Revitalizer Magazine. Greg leads the Multiplication track at the Renovate Con-ference annually.

Being All In for the Work of Revitalization Abandonment CONTINUED... By Greg Kappas

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Imagine sitting in a congregation and listening to a preacher who has done his best to understand the passage of Scripture he is unpacking for the audi-ence. He uses everyday language in his explanation of Ephesians 2:1-10, but the depth of theology is more than most congregants have learned to grasp. As a preacher visiting this church on vacation, you sympa-thize with the pastor, because you, too, have strug-gled in helping people see what you have discovered in a biblical text.

One of the most difficult parts of planning a sermon is finding and using powerful illustrations. While you probably need to illustrate each main point, the most important places for sermon illustrations are in the in-troduction and conclusion. If you can tie the two parts of the sermon together through the same illustration, like Paul Harveys Rest of the Story, it often is more memorable.

I would like to suggest to you a S.I.M.P.L.E.R. method for sermon illustrations so your messages may better connect with your people. An illustration is a window to the truth of the text. A good illustration is like a big window, letting lots of light shine on the biblical truth. Using a poor illustration or no illustration at all keeps average Christians from seeing the truth clearly.

When you think of biblical preachers like Jesus, the prophets and the apostles, you often find them using illustrations to help their audience understand an important aspect about God or the Christian life. The most effective preachers the last 2,000 years have done the same. Hopefully, you will see the value of S.I.M.P.L.E.R. preaching.

StoriesVirtually every age group in every culture around the world enjoys a good story. Illiterate cultures and preschoolers receive much of their education through stories. Consider the truth of the biblical text you want your audience to know and connect them to it with a story.

While some help may come from websites like ser-monillustrations.com, keep your own files on various topics in life. When you read a biography or history book, take some notes and save them. Regularly read newspapers or online news sources to keep up with

current events. Think about your own personal experi-ences and people you have helped. Be sure to protect confidentiality of people within your church.

As powerful as the Bible is, merely quoting a few vers-es about salvation doesnt usually have the same im-pact of referencing those verses and telling someone how you got saved. The same could be said for biblical advice on financesa testimony of Gods faithfulness through ones stewardship underscores the biblical command to give back to the Lord more than reading a few verses.

ImaginationWhen considering illustrations dont forget to use your imagination and creativity. God has instilled a bit of creativity in every person, because He created everyone in His own image and He is the Author of creation! Now, creativity may not come easy for you, but dont neglect it. Even if creativity and imagination are not your strong suits, you may be like me and form a small Creative Team for Preaching to help you think of ways to communicate the message more effectively (more on this in the next issue).

A little creativity can go a long way in making an impact with Gods Word. For example, I imagine the prophets as angry men, because they were continu-ally confronting a rebellious people. I once preached a summer series through the Minor Prophets entitled 12 Angry Men and that creative connection really helped my audience see the judgment, and then grace, of God.

MediaQuite possibly the greatest source of illustrative ma-terial today, media venues like songs, shows, movies and social media must not be overlooked. Quoting lines from a well-known song or popular movie allows your audience to see you as a real person, instead of some high-clergy member set apart from society. Memorable quotes can also connect a biblical truth in a lasting way.

You especially want to utilize social media, whether Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or the like. When some-thing has thousands of likes or several hundred thousand views, it is likely people from your con-

The Power of S.I.M.P.L.E.R. Preaching to Affect More Lives

by Joel R. Breidenbaugh

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gregation have noticed. Relating it to a positive or negative example in preaching will challenge your members either to employ their influence over their friends and followers or to think twice before haphazardly liking a post.

PicturesWith all the technological advances today, if you are not using pictures and visuals as illustrations to convey your message, you are not connecting with your people as well as you could. I know the Reg-ulative Principle mindset exists among someif it isnt in Scripture, we shouldnt use it, for preaching is only the spoken Word. What these guys fail to consider, however, is the visual impact of certain messages in biblical times. Do you believe for one minute that part of Jonahs impact on Ninevah didnt also have something to do with his odor and looks from being in the digestive system of a great fish for 3 days? Or what about Jesus deathdid it not make a visual impact on the centurion who proclaimed Him as the Son of God (Mark 15:39)? Of course, it did!

Whether you use maps, photos, videos, stage props or drama, visual elements can help you illustrate the message God has given you. And those pic-tures can help the viewer capture biblical truths for their life. A good picture can be worth 1,000 words.

LaughterEvery preacher and person needs to have a sense of humor and its perfectly okay if that sense of humor comes out in ones preaching from time to time. Now dont get me wrong, Im not arguing for stand-up comics in the pulpit nor am I a fan of telling jokes. Humor, however, used well and done naturally can engage an audience at a deeper level. Studies show that in order to reach a persons will so they are ready to act on something, influencers must first get past the gatekeeper, the primitive brain. One element of this first brain is the emo-tions, including happiness and sadness.

A word of caution here: be careful not to make fun of people in the pew or the laughter may quick-ly turn to anger. On a related note, people often appreciate self-deprecating humor. Ive told many people, When I was a boy, I remember telling my older brother that the one job I would never want was that of a preacher, because all they do is work one-hour a week. Boy, have I eaten those words many times over!

EngagersThis issue isnt a type of illustration as much as a piece of adviceuse illustrations which fit the occasion. You want to be relevant, but you also want to be person-al and clear. If you read or hear a great illustration, jot down a few notes and file it away. Dont fall into the temptation to force it into your next message, because it probably wont fit. You must avoid any illustration which is untimely, irrelevant or unclear. Remember, illustrations are a window through which the light of the Scriptural truth shines. If it muddies the truth, it isnt a good illus-tration!

ReferencesWhether you quote commonly-held views or simple analogies, references can help your listeners connect the dots to doctrinal truth. You can use analogies of what the kingdom of heaven is like, referencing any number of parables or using your imagination for some modern-day examples. References to biblical stories and examples will help people see how God worked through His people in times past. Moreover, poems, proverbs and anecdotes can relate key ideas from the text.

ConclusionLets return to our struggling preacher. What if he re-layed the following illustration on regeneration from Ephesians 2? What kind of picture is Paul trying to paint here about spiritual death and Gods grace making us alive? I imagine my life as a corpse rotting away at the bottom of the lakeits dead. God sends Christ to the bottom of the lake and He pulls me to the shore out of mercy. Then, He breathes into me the Spirit of life ac-cording to His grace. My eyes open and I see my disgust-ing body and think, Ew, I dont want to live like this!thats repentance. Then I see the One who gave me life and He lovingly reaches His nail-scarred hand to me and I grasp it to follow Himthats faith. I then spend the rest of my life serving Himthats good works.

Such an illustration pushes back the curtains and lets Gods Word shine into the lives of the listeners. You, too, can use the power of S.I.M.P.L.E.R. preaching to affect more lives for the glory of God and the good of His people.

Joel Breidenbaugh is the lead pastor of FBC Sweetwater where he has led the church in revitalization and renewal. He is a contributing author to a new Christian Theology book due out early next year.

Renewing the RevitalizerThe process of congregational renewal takes time, but it doesnt have take an irreparable toil on you, the instrument of revitalization. Let me make it clear, you are an instrument God desires to use to re-store His church. Along the way you will have hardships, sleepless nights and the associated aches and pains that go along with revitalization. Unchecked, the enemy and antagonists will attempt to trample your spirit and diminish your resolve. But take hope in these two activities that will help ensure that you, as the revitalizer, stay renewed.

First, minister beyond the church. As a young pastor, my mentor in ministry encouraged me to gain preaching experience by volunteering at the local nursing homes. Soon, I was spending one day per week in a volunteer ministry, a practice that continues to this day. The lessons learned by preaching in the nursing home environment were many. For one, I learned to project my voice, as many of the resi-dents were hard of hearing. Secondly, I learned to preach with sharpened clarity, as there would always be some white haired saint ready to correct the homiletical smallest misstep. The third benefit was learning to preach despite distractions, such as noises, movements and smells. Little did I know that God was preparing me for business meetings! The fourth benefit was discipline. I was given 30 minutes to preach at one nursing home. After 30 minutes, the staff would wheel the residents off to the next activity. Talk about learning time management! This paid dividends when our church moved to tap-ing our multiple services and sermon management suddenly meant to the minute. Finally, I learned to trust God for the results. Most of the time, these service ended with not even a thank you. But on many occasion the Spirit of God moved, and a resident or visitor would profess faith in Christ.

Where are you ministering beyond the church? The truth is, you will always gain more than you give. One of the fastest ways to rekindle the fire is to experience a fresh wind of the Spirit. Remember, the pastor is also a member, so dont forget to minister outside the walls of the church.

Second, give praise and thanks for all things. Take a moment right now and thank God for this day. Thank Him for the challenges you are facing. Thank Him according to Ephesians 5:20, giving thanks al-ways for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Give Him thanks for reveal-ing His will according to 1 Thessalonians 5:18, which reads, Give thanks in everything, for this is Gods will for you in Christ Jesus. When we thank God for everything, we are, in fact, admitting are desperate need for Him.

Over the years, friends have tired in hearing me say, Our frustrations are Gods opportunities. However, this statement is supported by Gods Word. Romans 8:28 provides both the context and the conditions. For we know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose. The context includes the verses (18-30) that are often called From Groans to Glory as Paul recounts the sufferings of this present time. The conditions are love God and called according to His purpose. We are reminded in this passage that not only will the Spirit join to help us in our weakness, He will also intercede on our behalf (v. 26). With this knowledge, giving thanks to God for all things is not so much a leap of faith as it is an act of obedience.

- By Rodney HarrisonThis article is adapted from the new book, Confessions of a Church Felon: Protecting Your Church from

the Flames of Fraud by Glenn Miller, Jeff Kick and Rodney Harrison.

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Lee Kricher is the first person I know who transitioned a struggling and aging church into one that un-churched people love to attend. Hes the expert I point

people to with questions about transitioning a church. Now hes sharing the principles he learned. If you want to ensure that your church is positioned to

reach the next generation, For A New Generation is a great place to start.

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Feature WriterRon, the best thing you can do for your church is to go out and buy a house. This was the most import-ant advice that I had ever received and it still proves true 22 years later. My first church right out of seminary was in Greensboro, North Carolina. I was newly married and had just moved from Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas. The former pastor of the church was a good family friend. Actually, my parents helped start this church when I was around four years old; it was very surreal to become the second pastor of this church. When I met with Pastor Otis Davis he advised me to buy a house. In doing so, this would communicate to the church that I was both com-mitted to living in the area and committed to the church.

At 25 years of age I understood this at face value, but it wasnt until years into the pastorate that I re-alized how powerful it was to communicate to the church that they were not just a stop along the way to something bigger. If I have learned one thing over the years its this: the church I pastor is always wondering, How long will he stay. As I evaluate them, they are evaluating me. Commitment goes both ways. Before committing time, energy, re-sources and money the people want to know if this will last.

Now, I am not here to write about longevity. This ar-ticle will discuss how to communicate to the church that I am ALL IN. After all, when I preach about commitment, call for commitment, and plan events that require commitment the church needs to see my commitment.

(Confession: As I am writing this I am aware that there are many pastors who are bi-vocational and give way more than I do. I also realize that there are many pastors of smaller congregations that wear so many hats way more hats than I. I met with Adrian Rogers in 2003. The church I pastored just eclipsed the 2,000-attendance mark. In our meet-ing, Adrian said, Ron, you work harder than I do because of your church size. This amazed me, but he was right. Adrian was able to focus on just a few things and not help with all things. So, to my bi-vo-cational pastors and small church pastors that have

been there for over 10 years please see this as a help to growing you past this stage so you can work less and still be ALL IN.)

10 Personal Attributes that Will Change Your Church

#1 PurityPurity in this sense is having the right motives for the right outcomes. Matthew 5:8 says, Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Our vision for God cannot be blinded by sin, pride, personal agen-da, ego, past hurts, or unresolved issues. Remember, in order for you to see the vision, you must have clear eyesight.

#2 Cultivate a Teachable SpiritAdmit that you are learning and waiting on God. Peo-ple respect transparency. One of the best things you can do as a pastor is to keep learning. This keeps you teachable. Attend conferences; study others; read a lot; establish trusted mentors and friends.

No one likes a Know It All KIA. At a recent funeral I performed the family shared some special memories and one of them was a family joke that, Know It Alls are KIA. KIAs (know it all) are KIA (killed in action). It was a family joke, but a very powerful way to com-municate dont be a Know It All.

#3 Have a Clear Direction In other words, know where you are going and why. Remember, serving as a pastor is like being a contractor. Some build with tools; we build with words.

John Maxwell says, People are down about what they are not up on. As the church sees what you see, in terms of direction, they are more willing to serve, give and invite. A fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants ap-proach to ministry is not healthy. 5-day vision, as I call it, will not move the church forward.

#4 Communicate a Clear Set of Biblical ConvictionsConvictions are the foundation of our words. What is in our heart comes out of our mouth. Speak on, print and constantly remind the church what the convictions are. Defining for your church a set of

Buy A Houseby Ron Smith

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Biblical convictions is critical. Biblical Convictions are the foundation for every step we make in our Christian walk.

#5 Create a Relevant EnvironmentRelevance is not compromise. Relevance communi-cates that you understand where people struggle, live, and pray. Relevance communicates that you know how to help change that. This requires that you keep your pulse on culture. Know what your people read so you can understand their struggles. Be informed on the growth and concerns of your community.

#6 Design a Commitment to QualityQuality and quantity can co-exist. Some would say, Lets choose quality over quantity. While others would say, We cannot have quality until the quan-tity changes. Both are wrong. Quality is doing the very best with what you have. Mediocrity breeds indifference; quality attracts. We cannot for a sec-ond relax on the quality of our ministry. Everything, in time, goes stale. Stay fresh.

#7 Build an Equipping Mindset In every area, work on reminding the church what they do pays the bills, but who they are is a minister in Christ. If there is one thing that keeps us committed it is our calling to equip the saints. This is the one tell-tell of how committed we are. It will be obvious if we are equipping or enabling. Equipping says, We are sending you out and placing you in ministry. Enabling says, Its ok, I understand your concerns; dont worry well find someone else.

#8 Develop a Problem Solving ApproachThe two greatest challenges of any leader are struc-turing a ministry and confronting problems. Guess what, the two feed each other. In Titus 1:5 we learn that part of our calling is to put things in order. This implies that things are out of order or need an order.

#9 Demonstrate Focus, Courage and FaithChurch growth has tremendous blessings and tremendous burdens. Be prepared to lose friends, go out of your comfort zone, take risks, be criti-

cized, falsely accused and be challenged. Be pre-pared to be molded, stretched and experience personal growth.

Knowing this, we must have courage, conviction, faith and focus, fixing our eyes on Christ.

#10 Remind Yourself of Your CallingThis should be a mouthful and need no explana-tion.

When I was called into ministry I bought into the calling. I devoted myself to becoming what I was called into. In the same manner the church I serve is the place I buy into my local calling. Looking back to the year 1994 when my wife and I pur-chased our first house at our first church right out of seminary I have so many memories. That house is still very special to us and so is that church. Buying a house was the right decision. Even though I have since left that church, it still feels like home. When you and I as pastors buy into the calling of our loca-tion, the people we lead and serve will also buy into the work of the ministry.

Ron Smith is the lead pas-tor of FBC Altamonte Springs a church working towards revitaliztion 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.

It's Monday, L

et's Get

Ready for Su

nday!

By Ron Smith

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Almost every leader who has ever written on the topic of change has developed a change theory to help practitioners think about change in 4, 6, 8, or 10 steps. Though it would be disingenu-ous to suggest that every change you lead will be successful by using our six steps, I do want to offer you six steps to help you think about leading change. Equally true, not every proposed change you lead will need all six of these steps in order to be successful. You cannot forget that the church is dynamic and always changing. So, do not run the risk of getting caught in a rut that suggests there is only one way to do something. This taxonomy is just a way, not necessarily the only way. In order to lead change, you must first:

Step 1: Identify the challengeWhen you are in a ministry context that needs revitalization, you must give careful thought to challenges at hand. Likely you will not be able to address everything in one fail swoop. You need to pray, talk, think, consider, pray, discuss, and pray some more. Do not rush this process. Sometimes you are in a position that do not afford you mul-ligans. So, when you are ready to act, you want to know that you have spent the necessary time needed to correctly diagnose the challenges and prioritize them thereof.

Step 2: Create urgency around the coursecorrectionAfter you identify the challenge and the appropri-ate response, you need to begin the laboring work of creating urgency around the course correction. This takes time, so do not be in a hurry. In earnest, what you are doing is helping to move people from a state of complacency to a position of ac-tion. In order for you to be successful at this task, the leader is going to have to begin removing the reasons for complacency. Though these factors can vary from church to church, consider some of the most common factors that lead congregants to complacency:

1. Low Expectations: There is nothing that breeds complacency faster than setting low expecta-tions that challenge nobody.

2. Unreasonably High Expectations: Have you ever had expectations leveled upon you and are so lofty nobody would be able to achieve them? When a church is constantly facing expectations that are unreasonably high, they may eventually throw their hands up in exhaustion.

3. Dishonest Evaluations: More than one pastor has used a time of revitalization as a tool for manipulation. They offer dishonest evalua-tions of the church in the attempt to coerce the church to do what they desire.

4. Crises Ministry vs. a Ministry of Crises: One could argue that one of the highest callings in church ministry is to serve those who encoun-ter a crises in life; a death of a child, marital divorce, major health issue, etc. For anyone who has had an opportunity to serve in those arenas, you know how rewarding crises min-istry can be. However, many churches do not find their joy serving in crises ministry envi-ronment, rather they are defined as a ministry of crises. They must jump from one crises to the next crises, to the next crises. Constantly having to deal with self-induced crises after crises will rob a church of their joy creating complacency.

5. High Pastoral Turnover: Though we have alluded to this reality in other portions of this book, let us once again come out and say very clearly: churches become despondent and complacent when they have a new leader at the helm every 18 to 40 months. They would just assume out live your tenure than to have to pay the emotional price of enduring anoth-er round of changes that do not fix the prob-lems.

There may be other factors that contribute to the complacency within your ministry context. At this juncture, you need to begin to think through how you eliminate those factors contributing to the complacency of the congregation so that you can create a sense of urgency around the course corrections needed to adequately ad-

Leading Change: A Six-Step Process by Michael Atherton

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dress the challenges preventing the church from experiencing revitalization.

Step 3: Build consensus You never want to walk into a business session or leadership meeting unknowledgeable of where people are standing on the issues. Who are the stakeholders and what are their positions as it relates to the matters at hand? You will be unsuc-cessful at leading in substantial and sustainable revitalization, if you are fighting the battle on your own. You must build consensus and allow some of your other leaders to help carry the weight of revitalization. Consensus makes vision conta-gious.

Step 4: Implement the changeAs you build consensus, you are working to imple-ment your changes. There are a couple of things that you will want to keep in mind during this phase.

1. Stay in communication with the church: You have invested so much in communication up to this point. You do not want to sacrifice all of your hard work up to this point, by going silent.

2. Celebrate the wins, with grace: You want to communicate to the congregation those wins that the church experiences as a result of the change. But, do not communicate with arro-gance or a haughty spirit. This is not time for an I told you so attitude. Win with grace!

3. Keep your ears to the ground: Sometimes you can be so involved in the work of leading change that you forget to listen to the people. The people will help you understand what is working and what is not working. You may need to make some course corrections; do not be so proud that you are unwilling to accept what you hear the people saying.

Step 5: Evaluate the consequencesThis is really where you as a leader must exhib-it humility. There are times that unintended or

unforeseen consequences emerge from change, that one must be willing to acknowledge is not for the good of the church. In those moments, what are you going to do? Will you develop a stubbornness that does not allow you to evaluate the situation objec-tively? Will you press on despite the unnecessary costs that will be required? Will you dig your heels in and be unwilling to course correct? A humble leader will acknowledge that an additional change is required to either harness the power of the original plan or minimize the collateral damage of the chang-es already enacted.

Step 6: Make any additional course correc-tions that are necessaryAfter you evaluate the consequences of the changes, when necessary, make course corrections. Nobody has ever expected you to make perfect choices. Predicting every potential hurdle or pitfall is nearly impossible. You will be surprised at how many peo-ple will learn to respect their leader when their leader is willing to acknowledge a plans shortcomings and make the necessary course corrections.

A Concluding ThoughtIsaac Newtons first law of motion states: Everything continues in a state of rest unless it is compelled to change by forces impressed upon it. Churches just seem to naturally gravitate to a state of rest, if they are not inspired to change. Even when confronted with change, some will resist it, others will tolerate it, while seemingly only a few will embrace it. Never-theless, it is the responsibility of a church revitalizer to seek Gods direction for the church body and to impress change upon the people in a way that brings honor to God and expands the Kingdom of God.

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

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The Catalyst Leader by Lee Kricher

Amplify Church, located in the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh, embarked on a revitalization journey in late 2003. After years of declining attendance, we were on the verge of closing our doors. Over the coming months and years, we prayerfully put into place a number of change strategies with the hope of turning things around. Thankfully, the church became healthy again. Not only did attendance increase, the average age of those at-tending Amplify Church decreased from 50 to 35 years old. Every generation was and is well rep-resented for the first time in many, many years.

In my observation, it is unlikely that a church will experience genuine revitalization if the pastor does not embrace the role of change leader. I know that many pastors are more excited about embracing the role of a shepherd who provides pastoral care than they are about leading orga-nizational change. However, people need their pastor to lead them through the challenges involved with church revitalization.

In their book Your First Leadership Job, Tacy Byham and Rich Wellins of Development Dimen-sions International use the word catalyst when defining effective leadership,

Much like an ingredient that induces a chemical reaction, a catalyst leader is someone who ignites action in others. The common characteristic in great catalysts is their passion to become better leaders. Theyre constantly building their leader-ship skills. Theyre also introspective looking in the mirror every day and asking what they could do to become better leaders.5

The pastor is the primary earthly catalyst when it comes to church revitalization. If you are a pastor, do not shy away from leading change even if you

feel, That is just not who I am. Your love for the people and your passion for the future of your church will provide all of the necessary motiva-tion for you to step out of your comfort zone and become a catalyst leader. Ask God to provide the wisdom, favor and courage that you need.

Consider this. If the role of change leader is del-egated to someone else, the congregation will naturally wonder about the pastors commitment to change. In addition, whoever is appointed to lead the change may steer the process in un-wanted directions. I have seen such scenarios undermine the pastor, derail the change process and even split the church. If you are the pastor of a church in need of revitalization, you must step up.

Leadership StyleI am a big believer in high-involvement lead-ership. High-involvement leadership is about directly involving those you are leading in mak-ing the decisions about the organizations future. Since involvement builds commitment, the more you can involve people in deciding what changes will be made or how the changes will be imple-mented, the more they will be committed to make the changes work.

That said, a high-involvement leadership style is not the right approach in every situation. Aarons high-involvement leadership approach with the people of Israel while Moses was on Mount Sinai was disastrously foolish. Each leader and pastor needs to adopt a style of leadership that best matches the situation.

In the first two years after accepting the call to pastor Amplify Church, I adopted a more lead-er-driven approach to change as opposed to

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a high-involvement approach. I actively cham-pioned the principles and strategies that I was convinced were necessary to turn things around. I did not passively stand by hoping that people would naturally come to consensus about chang-es that needed to be made. I led.

I knew that, in time, I would adopt a more high-involvement leadership approach for the long-term health of the church. That is exactly what I have done. I have seen first hand that pastors (and corporate executives) who maintain a strong and ongoing leader-driven approach eventually wear out the people who look to them for leadership. But you cannot be afraid to take a leader-driven approach for a season if that is what it will take for your church to become healthy again.

Decades ago I was told by a seasoned pastor, Someone is going to lead your church. If you abdicate that role, there will always be someone who is happy to take your place. When you look at Moses, Joshua, Deborah, Nehemiah, Peter, Paul and other leaders who are profiled in the scrip-tures, you dont see people who led with timidity. They may have been initially hesitant to take on the role of leader, but they ended up leading with God-inspired boldness. Bold changes seldom occur without bold leadership. As the pastor, you are the change leader and you need to be willing to embrace whatever leadership style is neces-sary to lead your church to become the church God for intends it to be.

Church Members as Change CatalystsIf you are a committed church member, you already realize that your pastor cannot bring revitalization to your church without a lot of help. As a lay leader, you also play a vital role in the revitalization of your church. You can decide to become a change catalyst and do everything possible to help make change work, even sup-porting decisions you may not agree with. After all, church revitalization is not about changing core beliefs or values. It is about changing pro-grams, ministries and practices.

Paul encouraged the Ephesians to humbly make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit

through the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:2-3) Those words may seem to be impossible to live when you are trying to agree about significant changes in your church! Know that your prayers, your attitude, and your words will have more impact than you might imagine.

Unfortunately, some church members take on the role of change blocker instead of change cat-alyst and even try to take control in order to keep things the way they are. In their book Replant: How a Dying Church Can Grow Again, Mark Devine and Darrin Patrick write about a common predicament that paralyzes churches.

Well-meaning members lose sight of their role as servants and become increasingly focused on controlling the very church they are called to serve. When a serving heart is replaced by a controlling heart, division is bound to ensue.

If you are a church member and you are in oppo-sition to the changes that your pastor is propos-ing to more effectively reach the next genera-tion, your best contribution to the church may be to leave in order to find a church that fits your preferences and is not interested in changing. I was shocked and saddened when a long-stand-ing member of our church stated that she didnt care what happened after she died as long as the church stayed the way it was until the day her funeral was held. I was sad that she left the church and that her funeral was conducted else-where. Still, I was glad that the church did not put its mission on hold to wait for her to depart for heaven. The church is bigger than the wants, needs, and preferences of any single individual. It is hard to imagine that change blockers will hear the words, Well done you successfully blocked all of the changes that would have kept your church from dying.

The bottom line is that church leaders and mem-bers cannot afford to become change blockers or to adopt a neutral wait and see attitude. Step out in faith and become a change catalyst! Trust that God is at work. Dont give in to your fears or put your own preferences before the larger mission of the church. The role of change catalyst is an extremely rewarding role as you see your

Lee Kricher is the Senior Pastor of Amplify Church, Pittsburgh, PA - amplifychurch.com and author of For a New Generation foranewgeneration.com

HOST A 1, 2, OR 3 DAY CONFERENCE IN YOUR CHURCH!If you and your organization wish to explore the possibilities of hosting a Church Revitalization and Renewal Conference, you may do so by dropping us a line at: [email protected]

For those organizations who are desiring to train and equip a Church Revitalization Assistance Team Workshop we have a retreat format for your organizations leadership which allows for group times as well as times of personal reflection and examination. You may inquirer by dropping us a line at [email protected]

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church turn around and begin to reach people in your community, including the next generation, more and more effec-tively.

Prayerfully consider these questions:1. What are the thoughts, words and ac-

tions of a leader who takes on the role of change agent? Does this describe you?

2. Are you willing to move out of your comfort zone to adopt the leadership style and approach needed for genu-ine church revitalization?

Building Sustainable Student Ministry Volunteer Teams that Last - Continued

A DIVISION OF

The local church is the only organization that can facilitate eternal hope, lasting change, and total transformation in the lives of people and communities everywhere. Even so, todays local churches are often in desperate need of renewal and revitalization themselves. In Th e Revitalized Church, Pastor Michael Atherton uses his rsthand experiences to show how a local church can once again become vibrant.

Th e Revitalized Church shares Athertons eighteen-month journey merging two church communities with a common vision and discusses the challenges and the victories they encountered. In addition, he examines the key biblical leadership principles that were used to help sustain the church. Atherton shows how these practical principles can be successfully implemented in any church body, as he outlines the foundational elements that must be woven into a churchs DNA.

Atherton communicates the lessons he learned in order to assist other congregations to connect with Christ and their communities. The Revitalized Church provides guidance to help unleash the power of God in the life of your church.

MICHAEL ATHERTON earned a doctorate of ministry from Midwestern Baptist Th eological Seminary and is a nationally certi ed church administrator through the NACBA. He has served as a pastor for the past thirteen years in Missouri, Texas, and Colorado, while also teaching as an adjunct professor on both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Atherton is the senior pastor at Cornerstone Church in Lone Tree, Colorado. He and his wife, Sara, have six children. Th ey live in Parker, Colorado.

RevitalizedChurch

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Forfeiting Self to Follow God

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Forfeiting Self to Follow God

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things really well. Maybe you cant completely redo your stage, but what you can do is make sure it is clean, free of debris, wires are taped down / hidden, and instruments/stands are organized. This may sound bizarre, but simple keeps you from doing a thousand complicated items that in the end may just turn into frustrations.

Whether you like it or not environments matter! How clean, safe, fun, and simple the environments you lead and run communicate specific messages about what you & I care about, and no matter the situation, if you make each of these four environment concepts as consistently great as possible, then you will win over a lot of your parents, students, and leaders as you develop your student ministry.

One thing I know for sure today in the field of church revitalization and renewal and that is change is headed your way and you can either embrace the changes or you can run from the changes which will be required for you and your church to begin the renewal journey to revital-ize your church. You really only have two choic-es when it comes to the change required in church revitalization. You only have to choices and in reality the first one does not even count. You can run from God and the changes required to bring about revitalization or you can walk with God through the necessary changes. You can embrace it or you can bury your head in the sand and try to avoid it. But if you wait too long, which many churches do, by the time your are ready to change the opportunity for change has come and gone and you are left with your hands in the air wondering why you waited too long.

To quote the Beatles rock group, You say you want a revolution? Well, you know, we all want to change the world. For some church members it is almost a passing thought if they would ever be allowed the opportunity to turn around their church. We all want to change the world to utilize that popular phrase, but can we do it? It is as if the struggling church is bound by the shackles of yester years and unable to remove these shackles and get moving forward. What the protestant churches of North America need is a revolution and an army of committed church revitalizers committed to waging a battle against the forces which are killing these dying churches. We must mobilize an army of church revitalizers who will work to turn around these churches.

- Tom Cheyney

Drew Cheyney is the Student Pastor at Neighborhood Church in Valsilia, CA and frequest writer on Revitalization of Churches through student ministry.

Mobilizing an Army of Church Revitalizers

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Have you ever have that panic stricken moment when youre not sure you will have enough volunteers in the classrooms? Sundays coming and so are the children, but your not sure about the volunteers. This seems to be a common theme in childrens ministry today. I would often think the verse The harvest is plenty, but the workers are few was written with the childrens ministry in mind. When I started as a childrens pastor, I felt this tension many times. I would do everything right on the front end, or so I thought. The schedule would have names listed in vari-ous spots and lesson plans would be emailed out, but inevitably very Friday and Saturday I would have several call outs. This drove me crazy. I was left wondering how can I get my volunteers to be consistent? Do I need to bribe them with doughnuts and cof-fee? I am not above a good bribe. I tried so many things but noth-ing fully worked. I read books, attended seminars and studied other strategies. Some things would work for a little while and others not at all. I couldnt wrap my head around it, why couldnt I get consistency in my volunteers. I needed some divine interven-tion. Its awesome how you can pray to God and He lets you know the answer was in front of you the whole time. He showed me that the problem was my mindset, how viewed volunteers. I was viewing my job as a chil-drens pastor to disciple children, which is true, and the volunteers

are here a means for me do that, which is false. I realized was having volunteers do ministry for me and not with me. I need-ed to reimagine the volunteers God gave me. I needed to view them through the lens of Christ. This caused me to think, If Jesus is our example for how t

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The Church Revitalizer Magazine Feb-Mar 2016