Why am I here again?

“It must be the diet coke!”  That’s what I tell my wife when I once again forget one of the few items she has sent me to the grocery store to retrieve.  I don’t know if it is the busyness, the seemingly rapid aging mind, or truly the diet coke, but I have a tendency to forget what I’m doing at times.  I can set out from the bedroom to the kitchen only to get there and ask myself, “Why did I come in here?”  Ever happen to you?  Do you need reminders?

I think that the same thing happens to us as we lead the church.  It’s easy for us to forget why we are doing what we do.  Are we working hard each and every day to try and make everyone happy?  Are we trying to build a bigger church?  A church with a good reputation in the community?  You might find yourself asking, “Why did I come here anyways?”

I was reminded this week by the familiar words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:22-23, “To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.  I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.”  Paul explains that everything he has done, all of the hard work has been “for the sake of the gospel” that he “might save some.” 

I don’t know about you, but I need that reminder from time to time.  That reminder sharpens my focus and renews my energy.  That reminder encourages me that its worth the extra hours spent visiting hospitals and making phone calls to the wayward.  That reminder whispers to my spirit and says, “The hard work of renewal is worth the effort.”  Why?  For the sake of the gospel.

For more articles and helpful tools visit usacanadaregion.org/church-renewal.

Here to serve!

If you are a Nazarene pastor or laymen then Vibrant Church Renewal is here to serve you and your congregation.  Vibrant Church Renewal is a division of the Church of the Nazarene USA/Canada Region and is here to serve to local church.

Under the leadership of Dr. Bill Weisman, Director of Evangelism Ministries, and Dr. Lyle Pointer, Facilitator of Vibrant Church Renewal, it is our mission to assist Nazarenes in bringing a new sense of mission and purpose to their plateaued congregations. This is accomplished through sharing resources, creating training events, and through spreading the vision via social media.

Now that we’ve introduced ourselves, would you take a moment to let us know how we can best serve you and your congregation?  Your feedback is very important to us.  Please take a moment to tell us:

• your name
• where you serve
• what tools, resources, and training would be most helpful to you in leading your church.

You can also contact us at (816) 686-5480 or vibrantchurchrenewal@gmail.com.  

A Jeremiah 29 Guide to Church Renewal

Over the past couple of weeks I have been reflecting on God’s message to His people in Jeremiah 29 and what it can teach us about church renewal.  I think there are some important lessons for us here.

If there was ever a group of people that were desperate for renewal is was the captive Israelites of Jeremiah 29.  They were once a powerful people group with resources, influence, and a clear identity as the people of God.  Now all of that was gone and they found themselves in a place that was politically, culturally, and religiously confusing to them. Sound familiar?

Despite all of this, God had a message for them that would help guide them through this confusing time and would ultimately lead to their renewal.  I would summarize God’s message in Jeremiah 29 with the following five steps:

1.     Face reality. The people in Jeremiah 29 had a tendency to navigate towards people who would tell them what they wanted to hear, people who would tell them that the “glory days” were soon to return.  The first step toward renewal in Jeremiah 29 was for the Hebrew people to face the reality and to realize that there was no going back to yesterday.

One of the most difficult but critical steps of church renewal is helping our congregations face reality.  Yesterday isn’t coming back and as long as we continue to hold on to yesterday we will never experience renewal and enter into the new days that God has for us.
 

2.     Keep on living in the present.  When people realize that things are never going to be what they once were they are often filled with despair.  One of the dangers of despair is that we are tempted to stop living; we just lie down and wait for death to come.  This is one of the reasons God told the people of Jeremiah 29 to “Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce.  Marry and have children. Then find spouses for them so that you may have many grandchildren. Multiply! Do not dwindle away!”  These tasks were a reminder to keep on living in the present.

Rather than being overwhelmed with despair by our current reality, our congregations must keep on living in the present.  Rather than sitting down and waiting for death to come our congregations need to keep on doing the things that sustain life in the present – worship, pray, fellowship, disciple, outreach, evangelism, etc.  These things show that we are still living.

3.     Multiply.  I find it significant that God specifically instructed them, “Multiply!  Do not dwindle away!”  I recently preached this message in my church and a gentleman came up to me afterwards and told me, “History has proven that any people group that decides not to reproduce will cease to exist.”  That only makes sense doesn’t it! 

If we forget as a church that our primary task is to continue to produce baby Christians who will mature and produce even more baby Christians then we too will cease to exist.  Reproduction must be a priority in any church that is going to experience renewal.

4.     Engage your city at its point of need.  I love the fact that God instructed the people of Jeremiah 29 to go to work for benefit of the city.  Most of the Hebrew people saw the people of the cities they now lived in and those in charge as the enemy.  Yet God tells them, “And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.”

In an attempt to be brief here I will simply point out that God instructed them to work and pray for the peace and prosperity of the city.  Most of the time we are okay with the praying part (at least in theory), but what about when it comes to the real work it takes to meet the greatest needs of our community? 

Can you imagine the type of renewal that might come to our churches if we would get on the frontlines of working for the welfare of the cities in which God has placed us?  God told the people of Jeremiah 29 that if they did so it would benefit them as well.  I think the same is true for our churches.

5.     Be a people of hope.  In the end God tells them to do these things because He has not forgotten them, he has a plan for them, and those plans are to give them “a future and a hope.”  You live differently when you move from an attitude of despair to one of hope.  You look at your circumstances differently.  You respond to situations differently.  You speak to people differently.  You even sound different.

Let’s be a people of hope.  Do not despair.  God has not forgotten His church.  He has plans for your future and He desires to give you hope.  Let’s live in light of that and be a people of hope.

Check out more resources at usacanadaregion.org/church-renewal.

Raising the Joy Level

Certain occasions jump with joy. Graduations, weddings, first full -time job, birth of babies, a person deciding to follow Jesus.  Then there is the rest of life.  The routine may move into monotony.  The pressures of finances, misunderstandings and unreasonable expectations syphon off the excitement and enthusiasm we formerly experienced.

The same kinds of things happen in a congregation.  Conflict arises.  Our favorite pastor leaves for another assignment.  The dreams of a growing church slide into the drudgery of trying to sustain the programs that used to be effective.  Months melt into years.  The numbers of people recede like a man’s hairline.  Empty chairs increase in spite of the desperation of prayers.  

How do we address the morale of a congregation?  What is the level of your congregation’s morale?  Would it help to take a Morale Inventory to see what can be addressed?  What if the leadership team or the congregation studied “Raising the Morale of the Plateaued Congregation”?

Go to www.usacanadaregion.org/training-moduleshttp://www.usacanadaregion.org/training-modules

Scroll down to “Raising the Morale of the Plateaued Congregation.”

Contributed by Dr. Lyle Pointer

Who's To Blame?

A human tendency is to ask, “Who’s at fault?” Then we tend to gather information aimed at finding the offender. Once the offender is found we can then punish the wrong-doer. This action puts the organization at ease—we know the enemy.

Local congregations commonly employ this technique. The result generally ends with someone leaving the congregation—offended and rejected.

How can congregations change the way they usually handle difficulties and differences? If the leadership team will ask, “How can we keep this offense or misunderstanding from happening again?”

The question takes aim, not at the “guilty” one, but toward resolving issues and preventing them from reoccurring.

For more information see “Resolving Conflict” at www.usacanadaregion.org/training-modules


Contributed by Dr. Lyle Pointer

Action Precedes Passion

I have been reflecting a great deal over the past month about the journey of renewal God has had us on at the church I pastor. For thirty years our church experienced decline. Each year the statistical line moved down and to the right. I am still amazed at how, despite the odds, God has helped us bring vibrant renewal to our congregation. Over the past six years the statistical line has been moving up and to the right, to the tune of +107% growth! 

Reflecting took me back through the turning points over my 10 and a half years of pastoring this church. I thought specifically about the critical milestones that prepared us for the past six years of amazing growth. One of those turning points came when we learned this simple principle – action precedes passion. 

Understanding this principle was life-changing for me as a leader and eliminated a great deal of frustration. I remember preaching week after week and year after year about our need to reach our community and love them in Jesus’ name. Each time the frustration would build, as it appeared our people were simply apathetic about loving our neighbors. 

All of this changed one summer night in August as a group of five or six members of our church passed out school supplies to the low-income apartment complexes surrounding our church. After an hour of passing out supplies to our neighbors we reconvened at the church and my wife and I were caught off guard by the enthusiasm of this small group of people who had helped that night. They were excitedly telling us stories about their interactions with single moms, children, and grandparents raising their grandkids. They were transformed by these interactions and there was a passion that was not present just an hour before. 

That night we learned a lesson that would forever change the future of our church. If we want people to be passionate about something, we have to give them a chance to experience it first. I look at it like this–-I don’t know a single person that is passionate about fishing who has never cast a line into the water. That passion for fishing was preceded by the action of experiencing the thrill of the catch! 

Some people in our churches never witnessed to a lost person, discipled another new Christian or engaged in compassionate ministry to others. We preach our hearts out hoping for passion to be birthed in them for these things, but neglect this simple principle--action precedes passion. We must keep on preaching, but we must also be intentional about creating environments where church-goers can experience the thrill of the catch!

Benefiting from Conflict

I benefited from conflict the day I quit trying to win.  I heard a professor say, “Conflict can be cancerous or creative.”  His insight helped me see how my determination to make my point in disagreements kept me from solving problems, encouraging communication and sustaining important relationships.  

I am mindful that others fear conflict.  Their fear causes them to hide in hopes their withdrawal from the battle will soften the emotional intensity and protect their feelings.  Others also fearing combat surrender principle for the sake of peace.  Yet others will become highly compliant.  They justify this response on the basis of love and of rescuing relationships.

Conflict, however, introduces the opportunity to express concern for the injured, neglected or offended party.   A spirit of caring sets the tone for dealing with friction and misunderstanding.  Listening and clarifying further advance the possibility that conflict can be resolved. 

The New Testament Church was particularly adept at handling disagreement that would impede mission-achievement.   Read more at http://usacanadaregion.org/training-moduleshttp://www.usacanadaregion.org/training-modules.  Click on Resolving Conflict. 

Contributed by Dr. Lyle Pointer