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.