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Category: Church Health/Revitalization

OUR DESIGNER DISCIPLE: Strategic Planning Template #4

 “Designer disciple” is not a great term. It conjures up all sorts of images and most them are not good.  But I’ve never heard a better term, so for the moment, we’ll stick with it. The concept is not to be confused with the “Saddleback Sam” or comical “Green Bay Gary” type character who is…

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Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization, Strategic Planning

FOCUS GROUPS – Strategic Planning Template #5

In my experiences of helping churches with strategic planning tasks – clarifying their purpose, mission, designer disciple, values, vision and strategy – the most controversial part of the process has always been the possible choice of a target or focus group. A focus group is a demographic niche which a church deliberately decides to concentrate…

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Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization, Strategic Planning

VALUES – Strategic Planning Template #6

  Valuable Thoughts On Values:   Values are the underlying assumptions and beliefs about what is important, that guide our decision making and our behavior. They are what’s important to us as we seek to achieve our purpose, fulfill our mission and realize our vision. They are a big part of a church’s CULTURE. Values…

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Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization, Strategic Planning

VISION – Strategic Planning Template #7

The creation of a vision statement vies with the identification of a focus (or target) group as being the most controversial aspect of the strategic planning (hereafter: SP) process.  It has, in fact, been said that there are two kinds of pastors in the world: those who love talking about vision and those (probably a…

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Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization, Strategic Planning

STRATEGY – Strategic Planning Template #8

Introductory Quotes:  Do you agree or disagree?  Why or why not? “For most churches, doing anything intentionally would be an improvement.”  Anonymous “Vision is worthless without strategy.” Attributed to Aubrey Malphurs “…anyone who fails to define their strategy is not only foolish but also demonstrating poor management of the time, talents and treasure of their…

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Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization, Church Structure, Strategic Planning

Four Bottom-line Truths About Vision

Vision is like the weather: everybody’s talking about it but nobody’s doing much about it. Let’s try to de-mystify this a bit, and maybe we can do something about it. Vision is simply a dream, a mental picture, of a better future. As leadership begins with dissatisfaction with the current state of things and a…

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Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization, Healthy Pastors, Leadership, Strategic Planning

A Different Way To Download A Vision

Just about everybody knows that vision is important. It gets us dreaming and praying and moving in the same direction. When a Christian ministry believes it has received a vision from God, it’s very powerful. The “catch” of course, is how we get this vision from God. There are innumerable opinions on the subject as…

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Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization, Leadership, Strategic Planning

Mission And Vision Contrasted: Why Pastors Need To Share Their Dreams

SUMMARY: Sharing your church’s mission is good, but also sharing what you believe God wants your church to become (your vision) is even better.  Here’s why: You’ve probably heard management and leadership contrasted: “Management deals with what already exists; leadership deals with what will or should exist.”  “Management deals with present realities; leadership deals with…

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Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization, Healthy Pastors, Leadership, Strategic Planning

Book Review: Pastor Unique – Becoming Turnaround Leaders

Pastor Unique is not just another indictment of the American Church or American pastors.  Authors Lavern Brown, Gordon Penfold and Gary Westra have given us a roadmap for real change and it is practical and doable. One clarification: PASTOR UNIQUE is about turnaround pastors in the sense of long-term (not transitional or interim) pastors, who seek to lead…

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Church Health/Revitalization, Healthy Pastors, Leadership

Falling In Love With Our Communities

Isn’t it amazing what love can do to a normal human being?  Take the 16 or 17 year old guy.  His whole life has been about himself.  He’s never done anything very unselfish, let along sacrificical, nor has he given any lavish gifts to anyone. And then SHE comes along!  He’s head over heels in…

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Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization, Disciple Making, Healthy Pastors, Leadership

Church Boards: Coach Your Pastors!

The relationships between church boards and senior or solo pastors are challenging.  In most evangelical congregations, the board and pastor have a complex, not easily negotiated relationship: All board members, including the pastor, are brothers in Christ, and equals before God. The board, in most cases, was significantly involved in the hiring of the pastor…

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Filed Under: Church Boards And Staffs, Church Health/Revitalization, Healthy Pastors

Is Planning Unspiritual?

In a recent post, Ten Planning Principles From The Book Of Proverbs, I shared the results of a study I did on the subject of planning in that heaven-sent, down-to-earth book. I concluded at the end of my short summary that God commends planning which follows the principles found in Proverbs and He will bless pure-hearted, prayerful…

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Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization, Healthy Pastors, Leadership, Strategic Planning

Five Reasons Why We Must Storm The Gates

Before Jesus gave his disciples the New Commandment (John 13:34,35) or the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20), he pronounced the Great Prediction of Matthew 16:18 (NIV): “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” There’s no actual command here. …

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Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization, Disciple Making, Seriously Troubled Churches

How We Can Storm The Gates Of Hades

‘Need something exciting to do?  Does your church need an exhilarating new mission or purpose?  How about “storming the gates of hades,” a phrase used by Jesus in connection with his first mention of the church?  Here’s Matthew 16:18 (NIV) in its entirety: “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock…

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Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization, Disciple Making, Seriously Troubled Churches

More Great Ways To Storm The Gates Of Hades

In a post worship service discussion, a member of my congregation took me to task for comparing churches to support groups.  What I meant was that as Christians in churches, we support and encourage each other as we go through life.  What she heard, however – and, of course, every attendee hears a slightly different sermon…

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Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization, Disciple Making

Three Great Expectations For A Leader

Individuals and organizations have all sorts of expectations for their leaders: good ones, bad ones, ugly ones. Our overriding concern with our expectations for our leaders should not be what we want or what they want. It should be for what works and what works should be defined in terms of the organization’s mission. If…

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Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization, Healthy Pastors, Leadership

Three Steps To Great Leadership In Your Organization

In an earlier post (Three great expectations for a leader) I’ve described some “best practice” leadership expectations for organizations that want to achieve real mission success: Expect your leader to dream – to pray down a vision from God for your organization. Expect your leader to design – to implement a strategy for mission fulfillment…

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Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization, Church Structure, Healthy Pastors, Leadership

Three Reasons To Not Bring Your Politics To Work

“But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may…

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Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization, Disciple Making, Theology

Three Dangers In Mixing Politics And Religion

It’s easy to mix a little politics in with our Christianity. As evangelicals, we avoid the old “social gospel” like the plague, as well we should. The social gospel is what the Apostle Paul would call, “another gospel which is not another,” (Galatians 1:6) for it confuses the good news that Christ came to die…

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Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization, Disciple Making, Theology

Why Pastor Johnny Can’t Lead

In 1955, author and writing consultant, Rudolph Flesch published what would become his most provocative book, Why Johnny Can’t Read: And What You Can Do About It. The volume was a critique of the “look-say” method for teaching reading and compared reading education in the US unfavorably to other advanced countries. In 1976, leadership guru…

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Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization, Healthy Pastors, Leadership

Book Review: Hit The Bullseye

It’s not every day that I would review a fifteen year old book, but Paul Borden’s Hit The Bullseye: How Denominations Can Aim The Congregation At The Mission Field, is as timely, or even more timely, than when the author penned it. The former Executive Minister of the American Baptist Churches of the West, renamed…

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Church Health/Revitalization, Leadership

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Testimonials

Elder Jim I wanted to let you know that we have really made some huge changes in the last few months.  We are seeing new people every week and we had a leadership meeting with 23 in attendance. Pastor ______ is doing well and God is doing amazing things.  Thanks for your support, prayers and love for the church!
Elder Jim
A New Church-Goer ...thank you for your messages at [our church] over the past weeks.  I just started going to _____________ while you were there and hadn't been to church in decades.  Your messages kept me coming back...  Thank you for helping me find my way back to God.
A New Church-Goer
Pastor Trey Turner "Brian is an experienced and insightful investigator of church systems.  He has real skill in looking at and diagnosing some areas needing attention.  I benefited greatly from his insight.  As a result, our church is benefiting greatly.  The process Brian took us through gave it the encouragement it needed to begin coming out of the 2020 difficulties.  We will work on the insights Brian provided as a roadmap back to better health."
Pastor Trey Turner
Pastor Greg Lund I've appreciated so much Brian's very practical coaching as he's guided me and the leadership of our church as we've sought to become more effective for God's kingdom. His extensive experience in assisting churches navigate a variety of issues makes him highly qualified to help lead churches through congregational change.
Pastor Greg Lund
Pastor Bruce Jahnke
"Our church is extremely grateful for the insight, adaptability and wisdom Brian so graciously contributed to our needs as we transitioned.  Our pastor transition was from Father to Son, which is by definition, difficult.  Yet Brian was able to foresee issues, feelings and responses with high accuracy.  Brian is personable, yet can direct when he needs to help us be reasonable and vision-oriented."

Pastor Bruce Jahnke
Andy Shanholtz I had the privilege of co leading a pastor’s training group with Brian. Brian’s wealth of knowledge and practical experience was an asset to all of us. The interaction with the group and the relationships built was a great value. I highly recommend having Brian facilitate a group to provide invaluable resources and practical knowledge.
Andy Shanholtz
Pastor Jed Manders
Leadership development within cohorts and peer groups has become increasingly popular, and rightfully so. Being involved in Brian’s leadership training group allowed me the opportunity to work through challenges, develop strengths and learn from both reading and peer development.


Pastor Jed Manders
Pastor Mark Pitroff "I have been so privileged and encouraged to be ministered to by Brian Thorstad as I have served as an Interim Pastor here in central Wisconsin.  He has been such a help and encouragement to me and especially, to this church I have served - Faith Community Church of Waupaca.  His leadership in helping us develop the “Journey Wall” enabled us to look back on the church’s history, the high points as well as the difficulties faced, especially in recent years.   Brian has helped FCC recover from a very difficult time…  Brian was such an encouragement to us, especially in the early months of recovery and preparation."
Pastor Mark Pitroff
Pastor Dan Norman “I enjoyed getting to know the guys in the group [and] I appreciated the thought, mind and spiritual challenges presented… I found many things that I was able to immediately apply, and I am still developing next steps that much of the discussion and training of this class helped to build a foundation for. [The handouts on strategic planning] will continue to be helpful in trying to guide our church to being more intentional. This [was] exactly what I was looking for at exactly the time I needed it.”
Pastor Dan Norman
Pastor Steven Boyd  "This course showed me that I, as a solo pastor, have to do things that don’t come naturally to me and has given me some tools to do the hard things.”
Pastor Steven Boyd 
Pastor Brian Schley “I found value in our meetings and am grateful you invited me to be part of it as a ‘future senior pastor.’ I enjoyed being able to be part of the conversations and glean from those beyond me. Thanks for your leadership with the group and your heart for pastors!”
Pastor Brian Schley
Pastor Todd Sauve "It was a privilege to have been a part of a pastors group led by Brian Thorstad. It's always great to learn from other pastors, and someone needs to provide leadership to make that happen. I'm thankful that Brian was willing to do that, and to share from both his successes and failures in ministry. He's honest, humble, and cares about people."
Pastor Todd Sauve

Brian A. Thorstad

Call: 651-319-1953

Email: churchwhisperer@gmail.com

1931 Cook Avenue
Wisconsin Rapids, WI 54494

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