Developing & Determine the Composition of the Local Church Revitalization Assistance Team By Dr. Tom...

Developing & Determine the Composition of the Local Church Revitalization Assistance

Team

ByDr. Tom Cheyney

[email protected]

Facebook:RenovateConference.org

A copy of this presentation can be downloaded at: www.RenovateConference.org/downloads

2 Timothy 1:7

“For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.”

What Does Church Revitalization Mean?

Every place I go people ask me for a definition of church revitalization. Church Revitalization is a movement within protestant evangelicalism, which emphasizes the missional work of turning a plateau or rapidly declining church around and moving it back towards growth. It is lead through a Church Revitalization Initiative, which is when a local church begins to work on the renewal of the church with a concerted effort to see the ministry revitalized and the church become healthy. Church Revitalization means that the local church knew how, at one time previously, to renew, revitalize, and re- establish the health and vitality of the ministry. One of the challenges for the laity in the day in which we live is that they have lost the knowledge of church renewal and no longer want to cultivate the skill sets necessary to see their church experience revitalization. Even more sad is when a congregation does not have the corporate memory that there was a day when the local church was reaching people for Christ Jesus and active as evangelistic witnesses into their community.

Statistical Realities Concerning Church Revitalization

Did you know that:

•There are 344,000 protestant evangelical churches from the eight mainline denominations in the western hemisphere, which are in plateau and decline.

•95% of all churches in North America average 100 or less.


Did you know that:

•Over 82% of American Churches are in decline or on a plateau.

•Each year 3,500 to 4,000 churches die in North America (900 last year within our Denomination alone).


Did you know that:

•Studies have shown that churches typically plateau in attendance by their fifteenth year, and by year 35 they begin having trouble replacing the members they lose.

•They have the inability to regain the critical mass necessary to regrow the church utilizing the tools and techniques they are presently employing.


Did you know that:

•50 – 60 churches in North America close their door every week.

Realities Concerning Church Revitalization

Lyle Schaller reminds us that 85,000 evangelical churches are running fewer than 50 on Sunday.

• Being aware of their “critical” condition, however, is not enough.

• They have got to become convinced they need “major” surgical treatment.

• As association and network leaders we must do the hard stuff of revitalization and renewal.

Shortage of pastors for Church Revitalization

In the next 15 years there will be a growing shortage of pastors willing to fill our churches, which have low renewal potential.

In our denomination we have 6,000 Southern Baptist Pastors who leave their ministries each year. More than 200 pastors are fired each month. In one recent article from LifeWay there are 70,000 vacant pulpits in America.


Did you know that:

A more recent series of studies (The State of the Church) was conducted by Bill Day; Associate Director of the Leavell Center for Evangelism and Church Health, who serves the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary as the Gurney Professor of Evangelism and Church Health in his sequential studies on church health and growth of 2003, 2007, 2010, and 2013 where he reports that currently there are less than seven percent (6.8) of our SBC churches which are healthy growing churches. That means 3,087 of our 45,727 SBC churches are healthy.

even today’s healthy churches need Renewal

Church Revitalization is important because so many churches are dying and or are all but dead. It is also important because even today’s healthy churches run the risk of developing the same illness that other churches are experiencing. God’s people desperately need a biblical foundation for church revitalization! Many Christians today actually attend a local church, which needs to consider learning and practicing the various principles for Revitalizing Churches.

Determine the Composition of the Local Church Revitalization Assistance Team

When putting together the local Church Revitalization Assistance Team always start with players who have the right stuff and then let it push out to the water’s edge. You want a team that is quite able, well led, and displays the right characteristics.

Eight Questions for Determining Your Churches Readiness to Begin in Renewal!

How do you know if your church is ready to participate in Church Revitalization? Start with asking yourself these following eight questions. The more you and your church can answer these questions affirmatively, the more prepared you are to begin the church revitalization process.

Eight Questions for Determining Church Revitalization Readiness

1) Do you and your people have a burden for lost people and a willingness to see your church revitalized and become healthy? Has a leader surfaced to lead out?

2) Has your congregation shown a willingness to step out in faith and try new things?

3) Do you have a vision for your city and region?4) Is your congregation spiritually mature and able to discern

God’s movement?5) Has your congregation practiced a generous spirit?6) Are you willing to risk?7) Does your congregation have a genuine kingdom mindset?

8) Are you willing to invest resources (people & finances) towards renewing your church?


Here are some key member characteristics of the local church revitalization assistance team:

Collaboration

• The members must be willing to work together and build the ability to work together as a unified core and not individual MVP’s!


Here are some key member characteristics of the church revitalization assistance team:

Dedication

Team members must be sold on the idea of revitalizing a church and be fully committed to the task. Placing people on the team will not convince them of the need to renew a work.

Determine the Composition of the local Church Revitalization Assistance Team


Evangelistic fervor

• To serve effectively on an individual church revitalization assistance team, members must strongly believe in and practice evangelism. Evangelistic thinkers will have the passion needed to build the Kingdom by renewing churches into healthy bodies once again.



Optimism

• Church revitalization is a challenging endeavor, so you do not want naysayers on your Church Revitalization Assistance Team. The best type of person to serve on this team are those people who can find the opportunity in every obstacle. They are optimistic about the cause and refuse to fuss and feud over nonessential matters.



Faith

• The Church Revitalization Assistance Team must be people of faith! They must be willing to believe God for the impossible. They must be able to embrace a vision of what a revitalized church looks like. They must be willing to look beyond what is seen into the unseen. That takes faith.


Church Revitalization Assistance Team Individual Member Gifts

• As well as the previous characteristics which you will want in every person on the team, additionally there are some specific gifts displayed by various members. It is wise to have at least one of each of these type of individuals on the team.



Strategic Thinking

• You will need at least one strategic thinker on the team, someone who is adept at reasoning through a process. This person understands goals, objectives, plans, and strategic steps. Strategic thinkers typically ask penetrating questions.



Institutional Memory

• This historian type individual helps the church avoid repeating mistakes. A long tenured pastor or staff member is such a likely person.



Ministry contribution

• People who are active in the church’s current ministries will contribute greatly to the team’s effectiveness. Determine which groups would be most helpful and involve them as they are needed.



Creative Thinker

• Creative thinkers are an asset to the Church Revitalization Assistance Team. Revitalizing a plateaued church is not a traditional endeavor. You will want people who see things a bit off center. These types of team members will stretch the rest of the team. Creative people force others to break free from the confines of conventional wisdom. They help the rest of the team to clearly see new options and think clearly about the choices it makes.


• Who should lead the Church Revitalization Assistance Team? Good Question! (More on that later)

• What is the Operative Team Size? I suggest 5-7 serve on this CRAT to accompany the Revitalization Leader.


Church Revitalization Assistance Team Responsibilities

The Church Revitalization Assistance Team will be responsible for at least the following actions:– Identify and recruit intercessors who will pray

for the revitalization project.–Communicate a biblical understanding of

church revitalization to the congregation. –Develop a biblical understanding of the

directive to become healthy again.


Church Revitalization Assistance Team Responsibilities

• The Church Revitalization Assistance Team will be responsible for at least the following actions:–Create awareness of the process of change

that awaits the congregation. (A Missional Endeavor)–Clarify relationships and mutual expectations

with denominational leaders and with the church attempting revitalization.–Create a timeline for the project and identify

critical milestones.

Determine the Composition of the Church Revitalization Assistance

Team (Characteristics & Gifts)

• • • • • (Dialogue and Q & A

What it Takes to Get a Church unstuck!

Additional training on this subject can be obtained from The Fly and the Fly Paper: How a Church Works to Become Unstuck. By Tom Cheyney in Boomerang Churches RENOVATE Publishing Group Due out Summer 2014.

What it Takes to Get Unstuck!

Here are some of the things that do not make you become stuck:1. An undersized facility will cause you to become

stagnant AND STUCK! Stuckness is not a matter of having space problems.

2. Having staffing problems does not lead you to become a stuck church!

Stuckness is not a matter of having a large number of ministers, ones who do not like each other or a small number of staff.


Here are some of the things that do not make you become stuck:

3. Most stuckness comes from a nebulous sense of sadness which eventually congeals into a more recognizable feeling of disappointment! (What happens next)

• A consultant is hired & report given• Ideas are suggested but not acted upon• Eventually, the pastor is fired or leaves in

disappointment.


Key teaching point in church revitalization:

Sparking change in a congregation is beyond a doubt risky business!

The simple fact:

Once you have revealed how and when your church has gotten stuck, you have tapped into something enormously unstable.


Depending on how you deal with the stuckness you have uncovered (this is not an overstatement) you are either playing with high explosives or you are igniting the fuel which can rocket your church to renewed life.

What it Takes to Get Unstuck!The first thing you must do is to get your congregation

prepared emotionally before you begin to make changes (any change not just the big ones)!

All of us have a natural resistance towards change. Our reluctance to let others make changes in our lives is

intensified by our human tendency to strive for security and comfort when we know things are not

quite right!

Church Revitalization Principle:This means the more we need to change, the less we

are willing to change!


Be light hearted in the midst of the hard things! When others perceive you as the leader to be anxious they become all

the more and act upon that anxiety. It is the display of anxiety which is most likely to cause any leader to fail.

Church Revitalization Principle:The one thing to guard against more than anything else as a

revitalization leader is anxiety. To a great extent, learning to be playful and peaceful rather than anxious can defuse the explosiveness within your congregation (Mt. 10: 19-

20).


Stuckness Truth:• Despite what many perceive as a dwindling

authority of the preacher today, ministers are still viewed a congregational change agents.

• Laity tend to believe that pastors have certain qualities such as: some intellect towards fixing this, a sense of divine calling, an education specifically designed to deal with congregational life, and the capacity to learn to the abstract sort of ideas and put them to use.


If a congregation is going to move forward, most members will usually expect the preacher to take the leading role. They will expect the preacher to be able to recognize what needs to be changed in the church and thus are not too surprised when he seeks to make those changes.

What it Takes to Get Unstuck!Lay people are more invested:• The laity who attend your church are much more

invested emotionally into the well being of the church (unless you planted this church) than the pastor who they see more as a preacher first.

• Usually know how to figure out how the church got stuck and the personalities involved.

• Are a lot more likely to be tolerated if they irritate other church members. Remember it is hard to fire someone who does not receive a paycheck.

• Laity usually do not move on to other churches once they figure out how to un-stick the church.


Who is the best change agent for church revitalization?

Answer:Your ability to renew your church has more to do with you being courageous,

perseverant, and playful than with whether you are a lay person or a pastor.

What Qualities it Takes to Unstick a Stuck Church!

Once God is calling you to revitalize your fellowship, if you are going to start these changes then you will need to know what sort of personal abilities it takes, what sort of tolls the process requires.

Let’s take a look at the qualities a person needs to learn in order to get his church unstuck.

While some people may be naturally gifted in these ways, the attributes we are talking about here can pretty much all be learned.

Traits of a Church Revitalization Leader!

Vision – The leader who wants to bring about change in a congregation must have vision. The vision for church revitalization includes knowing where you want the church to go, some idea of when it got stuck and a notion of how to go about getting it unstuck!

• You do not need to know precisely where you want the church to go.


• Vision – Sometimes a mending church becomes a tidal wave of vitality, and tidal waves are notoriously difficult to steer.


Persistence – The leader who wants to bring about change in a congregation must have additionally persistence. There is a degree of obnoxiously and calmly persistence that is a real key to un-sticking your church.

It is important because as a leader you will encounter distracters, detractors, and defectors.


Persistence –

• These are people who will respond to their own anxiety by trying to lure your focus away from your vision for the church by criticizing you and your ideas, and by being such terrible supporters that you will wish they were your opponents.


• The ability to anticipate resistance as sabotage – Can you guess who will work double time to prevent you from unsticking your church?

• Ask this question: “Who in the church family is going to mess things up and how are they going to do it?” This is a very important question for those who want to revitalize their church fellowship.

What Qualities it Takes to Unstick a Stuck Church!

Folks are never more creative than when they are raining on someone else’s parade!

The important thing is to remember that such interference can and will occur and to decide that, when it does, you

will not be deterred from pursuing your goal.


Playfulness - The leader who wants to bring about change in a congregation must have the quality of playfulness.

Because we love our churches as we do and we recognize that they must change if they are going to thrive or simply survive, our concern for them has a tendency to make us really serious.


Playfulness - The leader who wants to bring about change in a congregation must have the quality of playfulness.

• Seriousness is the fertile breeding ground of anxiety! Anxiety ignites hostility, polarity and despair in a congregation. By maintaining a playful attitude there is tendency to defuse all those negative things.


Playfulness – Could be:

• Humor• Quips• Cleverness• Witty remarks• Ability to not get upset• Shrug it offJust remember we can’t always be playful so use it wisely

when you need to defuse a situation!


The fact that there will be opposition to your ideas and that you will have critics

and detractors means that as you proceed there will be winners and losers in your efforts to revitalize your church!


The Ability to Stay Connected- The leader who wants to bring about change in a congregation must have and demonstrate regularly the ability to stay connected with key individuals within the congregation, even those who do not particularly like you or you like them!


The Ability to Stay Connected-• Connectedness has to do with having an open,

honest, non-anxious relationship with those who will be touched by the changes you are trying to instigate, and especially those who have strong emotions about those changes.

• Mere connectedness goes a long way toward defusing both anxiety and resistance.


Remember:

Even your loyal opposition have a vested interest in your church revitalization success.

They need to be reminded frequently that their leader is along side them emotionally. I

think that is the emotional process behind being connected.


You must become an Anxiety Shock Absorber - The leader who wants to bring about change in a congregation must become an anxiety shock absorber.

• A person with this quality can successfully resist the avalanche of anxiety which is bowling over everyone else in the fellowship.


You must become an Anxiety Shock Absorber –• The mere suggestion of change is enough to spark

upset-ness throughout the entire membership.• Once change begins to happen the anxiety level rise

even higher.


You must become an Anxiety Shock Absorber –

• If you stay calm ad demonstrate that you are not going to let the process of revitalization get derailed it usually has a calming, quieting effect on the entire church.


Remember:

You are the guy in charge of staying cool when everybody else is freaking out!

That is a big part of a church revitalization persona.

What it Takes to Get unstuck!The opposite side of the coin:

It is invariably destructive when a church leader is unable to remain calm while the rest of the

members are feeling anxious. The anxiety of a leader can instantly impede the process of

change.

Also there seems to be a connection between pastors and other leaders who cannot rise above the tension of the moment – particularly if they are being criticized – and

the failure and termination of their leadership.


Put on your emotional Teflon –

The leader who wants to bring about change in a congregation must put on daily his emotional Teflon. If you desire to revitalize your church the ability to cover yourself in emotional Teflon is a must.

You must let the ugly stuff slide off of you without changing your demeanor, the way you feel about yourself, or the way you respond to these anxious folks who are acting childishly.


Tactic you will observe from the membership:• Resistance tactics• Delaying tactics

• Load you down with other stuff tactics• Feeling of displacement tactics

• Sabotage Tactics• ?• ?• ?• ?


Lastly, (#9 if counting) – The leader who wants to bring about change in a congregation must have the ability to tell the difference between content and process.

• Content- is the stuff people argue about. The small talk, the debris that floats to the top of the raging river.

• Process- is the real reason people argue. The emotional reality. The raging river.


When we put our energy into dealing with the content of conflicts rather than its source,

which is to say the emotional process behind it, we are wasting our time and demonstrating

that we do not know what the real problem is.

Nobody gets it right 100% of the time. If you can do these things right 70% of the time that is the best you can expect. Stop beating yourself up emotionally when

things do not always work out perfectly.

Developing & Determine the Composition of the Church Revitalization Assistance Team

ByDr. Tom Cheyney

[email protected]

Facebook:RenovateConference.org

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