I pray that the Lord would encourage you as you seek the revitalization of your church and bless your efforts to discover what steps to take next. I would love to hear how those with more experience than myself would counsel you, Ted, but I thought the least I could do was pass on to you the titles of two books that I have found especially helpful in this area as a pastor:
Outgrowing the Ingrown Church, by C. John Miller (Zondervan, 1986)
Comeback Churches: How 300 Churches Turned Around and Yours Can Too, by Ed Stetzer and Mike Dodson (B&H, 2007)
Both these books agree that at the heart of church revitalization is a recapturing of the missionary spirit of the church, rooted in a vision of the gospel's power, and a desire to see the gospel spread through evangelism. Leadership is key. One practical piece of advice might be to take the time as a Council and a congregation to reflect on where your church is going as you seek the next pastor. Reading books like the above together might help that process.
I recommend Effective Leadership in the Church from Sustaining Pastoral Excellence - see the appendix for good suggestions on using the material in a retreat setting. 3-4 hours is probably not sufficient time to work through the material but you could get a good start and carry it forward at future meetings.
As a pastoral intern at Geneva Campus Church in Madison, WI I led a council retreat using Effective Leadership in the Church. The retreat was a Friday evening and all-day Saturday event -- three 2-3 hour sessions based on the material in the booklet. At that church (where I also served as an elder and ministry leader over several years) we had an annual Council retreat, which included both ordained and non-ordained leaders in the church. Another year we used StrengthFinders materials. There was always plenty of time devoted to worship and prayer, usually with communion at some point -- I think this is vital and I will emphasize these things even more as I lead leadership retreats in the future. Though there are lots of practical activities that can be accomplished on these kinds of retreats, the most important thing (it seems to me) is the spiritual renewal of the leadership.
Posted in: How can we revitalize a church that is struggling financially and physically?
Ted,
I pray that the Lord would encourage you as you seek the revitalization of your church and bless your efforts to discover what steps to take next. I would love to hear how those with more experience than myself would counsel you, Ted, but I thought the least I could do was pass on to you the titles of two books that I have found especially helpful in this area as a pastor:
Outgrowing the Ingrown Church, by C. John Miller (Zondervan, 1986)
Comeback Churches: How 300 Churches Turned Around and Yours Can Too, by Ed Stetzer and Mike Dodson (B&H, 2007)
Both these books agree that at the heart of church revitalization is a recapturing of the missionary spirit of the church, rooted in a vision of the gospel's power, and a desire to see the gospel spread through evangelism. Leadership is key. One practical piece of advice might be to take the time as a Council and a congregation to reflect on where your church is going as you seek the next pastor. Reading books like the above together might help that process.
Blessings,
Jim
Posted in: Council Retreat & Guidelines Material
I recommend Effective Leadership in the Church from Sustaining Pastoral Excellence - see the appendix for good suggestions on using the material in a retreat setting. 3-4 hours is probably not sufficient time to work through the material but you could get a good start and carry it forward at future meetings.
Posted in: Council Retreat & Guidelines Material
As a pastoral intern at Geneva Campus Church in Madison, WI I led a council retreat using Effective Leadership in the Church. The retreat was a Friday evening and all-day Saturday event -- three 2-3 hour sessions based on the material in the booklet. At that church (where I also served as an elder and ministry leader over several years) we had an annual Council retreat, which included both ordained and non-ordained leaders in the church. Another year we used StrengthFinders materials. There was always plenty of time devoted to worship and prayer, usually with communion at some point -- I think this is vital and I will emphasize these things even more as I lead leadership retreats in the future. Though there are lots of practical activities that can be accomplished on these kinds of retreats, the most important thing (it seems to me) is the spiritual renewal of the leadership.