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Frustrations are to be expected in any pastorate. Today we discuss six of the most common frustrations pastors face when revitalizing or replanting.
Some highlights from today’s episode:
- In almost every church, there is some need for revitalization.
- “We will do whatever it takes to turn around our church” usually means “we will do whatever it takes as long as we don’t have to change.”
- If your focus is on what you don’t have in your church, you’ll fail to appreciate what you do have.
- Strangely, your biggest early supporters in a pastors often turn into your biggest critics later on.
The six common frustrations we discuss are:
- Unrealistic expectations
- Perceived lack of resources
- Lack of peer support
- Supporters who become critics
- Members who leave
- Family challenges
Resources mentioned in this episode include:
- Revitalize Network
- ChurchReplanters.com
- Replanter Assessment
- Find more resources at the Revitalize & Replant page at ThomRainer.com
Biblical Worship is the foundation for church revitalization. Biblical worship leads us to listen to Jesus and in listening to Him he will reveal His plan is for his church. The North American mission board is pleased to present a revitalization worship summit August 26 and 27 at the North American Mission Board in Alpharetta Georgia. Leading the Summit will be Thom Rainer , Mike Harland the director LifeWay worship, Jared Wilson from Midwestern Baptist seminary Along with guest musical artist Andrew Peterson. This summit will feature main conference sessions and specialized breakouts focused on the needs of churches in need of revitalization and those with limited resources for worship. Registration is limited to 300 so register early the entire cost for this conference is only $35 To register, visit ChurchReplanters.com.
Submit Your Question:
Do you have a question about church revitalization or replanting for us to use on the podcast? Visit the podcast page to submit your question. If we use it on the show, you’ll get a copy of Scrappy Church and Reclaiming Glory.
The call for change is a recognition that things aren’t working at the moment—usually economically. If things were going smoothly, everyone would be happy doing the same old thing while the world changed around us. Let’s face it. Change is not the Church’s strong point.
The call for change can be empowering to a leader who can just talk change without ever defining direction and throwing resources at one idea after another, causing confusion. Laity have more at stake. Members are asking themselves, “Where do we fit in?” Finding the answer to this question is pivotal to successful change, but often it is viewed as the root of failure. It is a fair question. Answer the question early and often and many problems will be eased.
Change could also be empowering to the laity. Often it is not because we do not perceive ourselves as having any real leadership influence. We are the pawns of change, good for strategy but expendable. Do too much and we are challenging the authority of the pastor. Do less and we are excuses for failure.
My experience is that change is just as daunting to pastors. Change is serendipitous and pastors may suddenly be leading a congregation they may feel unqualified to lead—a congregation that speaks a different language or lives a different lifestyle, or faces unusual challenges or has unusual skills. At this point pastors can move on, leaving lay leaders flustered—hence appearing as enemies. We are not. We are just trying to serve the congregation that elected us.
The call for change is a recognition that things aren’t working at the moment—usually economically. If things were going smoothly, everyone would be happy doing the same old thing while the world changed around us. Let’s face it. Change is not the Church’s strong point.
The call for change can be empowering to a leader who can just talk change without ever defining direction and throwing resources at one idea after another, causing confusion. Laity have more at stake. Members are asking themselves, “Where do we fit in?” Finding the answer to this question is pivotal to successful change, but often it is viewed as the root of failure. It is a fair question. Answer the question early and often and many problems will be eased.
Change could also be empowering to the laity. Often it is not empowering, because we do not perceive ourselves as having any real leadership influence. We are the pawns of change, good for strategy but expendable. Do too much and we are challenging the authority of the pastor. Do less and we are excuses for failure.
My experience is that change is just as daunting to pastors. Change is serendipitous and pastors may suddenly be leading a congregation they may feel unqualified to lead—a congregation that speaks a different language or lives a different lifestyle, or faces unusual challenges or has unusual skills. At this point pastors can move on, leaving lay leaders flustered and asking “What now?” Perhaps we appear to be enemies. We are not. We are just trying to serve the congregation that elected us.
Thank you pastor Rainer. Yes, “we will do whatever it takes as long we don’t have to change.” We will even pray half the night according to A.W. Tozer, to avoid obeying what God has made clear that we are to do for revival and revitalization.
Among other things, the primary thing we need to do to revitalize the the church is to make the Gospel the primary business and product of the church. As long as we focus on producing the by-products instead of the product, we cannot move forward but continue to close our churches at an alarming rate.
I have written about this in my recently published book, “From Incestuous Christianity to Making Disciples: Unleash the Power of the Gospel by Evangelizing at least one Sunday a month.” Self-absorption and inward-focused “incestuous” Christianity is stopping us. Please read more about it here http://udoministries.com/. Thank you
The thing about “Change” is….it will happen! There is no such animal as plateau. I think it was Rick Warren that said, ” you are either growing or dying”. I think change covers both directions.
Such great insight! haven’t we all felt these as we work in the growing church.