What is needed today is a kind of revolution in thinking and imagination. Churches need a radical change in the way they see their mission.
All tagged church renewal
A Path for Renewal
The sneaky thing about renewal is that it is not up to us—it is up to God. God cannot do the work God desires to do when communities of faith assume that they are the center of things.
I Survived the Church Renewal Movements. Re-Missioning Is What We Need Now.
It could mean that small teams of pioneering Christians would leave their church buildings and go where non-church-goers gather. They would build relationships, meet real needs, and slowly share about Jesus.
Ex-Christian America?
For churches to flourish, the answer will lie in healthy congregational life and robust Christian formation.
Joy in Togetherness
If I may be direct: see if you can find ways to encourage your people to enjoy togetherness. God is a master of bringing renewal to a dry and weary land, and the same is true with dry and weary hearts.
What About Revival?
Spiritually, revival is not something one can do. I can restore a house, rebuild a car, or renew an old orchard. However, when it comes to congregational life, revival is God’s work alone.
Love: It’s Time to Get to Work
Reflecting on years of teaching young students, I am reminded of exercises captioned “Listen and do.” Might this be a simple, yet awfully mature, set of ancient instructions?
On Levi’s Jeans and Wine
In many established churches, we continue to assume that our jeans and our wineskins that we have received from a previous generation are still capable of holding the dynamic, electrifying power of the gospel.
Reflection Roundup: A Nap and a Snack
This week one of my colleagues suggested taking care of ourselves might be our most important job, then went on to wonder if we could actually consent to a less-anxious model for those in our midst.
Five Steps to Restore Your Church’s Vitality
Sometimes, a health crisis hits a church squarely in the face. If the church possesses enough self-awareness, it then faces the choice to either make dramatic changes or else permanently lose health and vitality.
Reflection Roundup: “The Gift of Unhurried Time”
Ask, seek, knock. Pray those bold prayers and there will come a day when God’s responsiveness comes tumbling after you. Expectantly wear sturdy shoes every day of your life lest you be bowled over by the love of God.
Reflection Roundup: Reframing Our Questions
Looking bidirectionally within history, to what people, ideas, and entities can we allow our questions to be vulnerable so they may be changed?
Exiled: Four Principles to Embrace
Jeremiah says to settle in. Adapt, adjust, and find ways to make a meaningful life in a new environment.
Reflection Roundup: Where’s the Learning Here?
Do our biggest challenges lie in relation to one another? This week let us fasten our truth-belts and remember our “enemy is not flesh and blood” (Eph. 6:12).
What Will it Take for the Next Revival?
I have often said that I think we are on the verge of the next big evangelistic revival. Here are the five things that will help it to happen.
Things, New and Old: A Reflection on Wineskins
It may be that we have let our love of old things get in the way of our love for the creative power of God breaking into our world.
Discerning a Path for Renewal
Rather than rush from one thing to another, healthy churches live with meaning and intentionality, doing what they do with excellence.
Renewal Begins: Another Congregation’s Journey
Church revitalization is quite possible when a congregation acknowledges that, without the work of the Spirit, there is no future for us.
Dying to Live
To be a good minister—a good shepherd faithfully following the Good Shepherd—sometimes you have to order the “death” of something you love.
Back from Death: A New England Church’s Story of Revitalization
Hope continued to rise as we engaged with new people in the community.