Spiritual Passion and Staff Roles in the Vision Process - Bill Kemp

Spiritual passion is the fuel that keeps a congregation active and excited about the faith it has to share with the world. Without spiritual passion, a church, no matter what its size, will either crash and burn or become a hollow shell of its former glory. Just as the body is fueled by a nutritious diet, so a church is fueled by a healthy, passionate, spirituality.

Seven marks of low spiritual passion are:

1. A reluctance to witness or share faith with others 2. A lack of genuine expectation of prayer to change things 3. A loss of interest in studying the Bible or expecting it to have truth that can be

applied to daily life 4. The inability to show any joy when talking about faith 5. A lifeless feel to worship, even though the worship performance may be of

excellent quality 6. A disconnect between the work of the church’s committees and the faith that the

church professes (what we believe doesn’t affect what we do) 7. A loss of hope for the future coupled with a reluctance to try new things

Four Lift Points: 1. Prayer with Expectation 2. Scripture with Relevance 3. Witness with Joy 4. Worship with Passion

The three things you must understand about Spiritual Passion: • It can be measured • It isn’t a matter of theology • It involves the whole system

Churches are self-regulating systems: • The system is designed for the results you are receiving • The longer you travel in the current direction, the more normal it feels • To implement lasting change you must use a distributed strategy

Three Questions, one Answer 1. What makes a church different from a social club? 2. What guarantees diversity in the church? 3. What determines the lifespan of a congregation?

Bill@notperfectyet.com see www.billkemp.info

When going through transition, take: Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue

Role Clarity: Itinerant staff - move from congregation to congregation, sharing with

each the common understandings about faith and order that are held across the denomination.

Located staff - become rooted in their context, discovering how to be the kind of church that is vital and transformative for their community.

Church is a gathering of people for prayer, study, and worship, who relate to each other and to the world as Christ desires.

The Three Questions for Group Discernment: 1) What is the real nature of the Church?+ Application: How should we design our life together as a congregation so that we

become what Christ has in mind? (Acts 2:42-47)2) Where is society taking us?+ Application: How is your church changing to remain relevant to the people of this neighborhood?3) How can we do God’s will?+ Application: What specific vocation does God have for your church?

Three Watchwords for Lakewood (a regional church) Design Marketing Innovation

The Spiral Rule

Luke 6:38 1) You cannot move upward without turning your attention outward.

2) Congregations that focus inward travel downward. Eventually they become a selfish singularity.

Bill@notperfectyet.com see www.billkemp.info