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Don’t Be Bashful: Most People Are Still “Lost In America”

March 23, 2022 By Brian Thorstad

“I am not ashamed of the gospel…” Romans 1:16 Back in 2001, Tom Clegg and Warren Bird gave us great encouragement with their book, Lost In America. The subtitle was “How You And Your Church Can Impact The World Next Door.” Before you change channels because I’m reviewing an “old book,” give this post a […]

Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization, Disciple Making

This Old Church: Begin Your Revitalization With An Assessment

April 6, 2022 By Brian Thorstad

I heard it again on Sunday, described a little more eloquently this time than in the past. The homeowner and contractor told me how he had remodeled several homes, each time living in them during the process. He was grateful to have had the same wife with him throughout the whole adventure. As I had […]

Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization, Consulting & Assessments

Keeping The Band Together: Maintaining Unity As Your Church Grows

April 13, 2022 By Brian Thorstad

Would that every church leadership team would be faced with the challenges of significant church growth! A pastor who is dealing with that happy situation put this question to me: “I love the unity we have in our church right now.  How can we maintain it as we continue to grow?”  Again: wouldn’t it be […]

Filed Under: Church Boards And Staffs, Church Health/Revitalization, Leadership

Keeping The Band Together: Maintaining Unity As Your Church Grows, Part Two

April 20, 2022 By Brian Thorstad

Sometimes our success can be our own undoing.  Oh-so-happy is the experience of the small, united church!  Such congregations tend to grow spontaneously: “Come and check out our wonderful little church!  I think you’ll love it.” And they do come, and they do love it, because we’re all looking for love, and this kind of […]

Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization, Leadership

Keeping The Band Together: Maintaining Unity As Your Church Grows, Part Three

April 27, 2022 By Brian Thorstad

A wise, young pastor whose congregation is experiencing healthy growth put this question to me: “I love the unity we have in our church right now.  How can we maintain it as we continue to grow?”  Here are the answers I’ve shared so far: (Read the first full post here and the second post here.) […]

Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization

Ten Questions To Identify Your Church’s Actual Mission

May 11, 2022 By Brian Thorstad

Does your church have a mission statement?  If it’s an evangelical church, it probably does. What does it say?  More than likely, it says something to the effect of: “We exist to make disciples” – defined as growing, devoted followers of Jesus.  Writing a mission statement is a “slam dunk” because this imperative is so […]

Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization, Disciple Making, Strategic Planning

How Fast Can My Church Change?

June 8, 2022 By Brian Thorstad

A pastor whose church is experiencing vibrant health and growth recently asked me this great question. Would that more church leaders – the world over – had cause to be asking this! As I write these words, his congregation is growing and significant changes are being made to accommodate and catalyze that growth, and it’s […]

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

How Fast Can My Church Change?  Three More Factors

June 15, 2022 By Brian Thorstad

Last week I wrote about a happy question put to me by the pastor of a growing church: “How fast can my church change?” I noted that there’s probably no simple answer available, but I noted several factors, which, considered together, should help a leadership team determine how fast their church can change. BTW: The […]

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

Surviving Those “No-Win” Pastoral Situations

July 28, 2022 By Brian Thorstad

I imagine that people in other professions also experience “no-win” situations.  It just so happens that, having been a pastor for many years, and working with many of them now in  coaching and consulting relationships, I’m tuned in to the dilemmas in which the leaders of churches sometimes find themselves. Such as: A beloved staff […]

Filed Under: Church Boards And Staffs, Church Health/Revitalization, Healthy Pastors, Leadership, Seriously Troubled Churches

Your Kommittees Could Be Killing Your Church

August 24, 2022 By Brian Thorstad

I’m not an anti-committee iconoclast.  I only know one committee joke: Q – “What’s a camel?” A – “A horse put together by a committee.” That’s it, and now I have that out of my system. Committees can actually be wonderful: I’ve seen pastoral search committees that served God well by helping their congregations locate […]

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

Four Ways To Reform Your Killer Committees

August 31, 2022 By Brian Thorstad

Criminal justice experts debate whether those guilty of homicide can be reformed. Conservatives tend to say “no,” liberals tend to say “yes,” and Christians often say that since regeneration transforms the worst of us into new individuals, that fact should at least be taken into consideration by parole boards. But that’s not my area of […]

Filed Under: Church Boards And Staffs, Church Health/Revitalization, Church Structure, Strategic Planning

What We Can Learn From “New Pastor Revivals”

September 7, 2022 By Brian Thorstad

Many years ago, my wife and I observed that churches with new pastors frequently experience new excitement, new enthusiasm and new growth.  At some point we coined the term, “new pastor revival.” Of course, it’s not usually “revival” in the historic sense of a powerful movement of the Holy Spirit among a group of Christians […]

Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization, Healthy Pastors, Seriously Troubled Churches

What We Can Learn From “New Pastor Revivals,” Conclusion

September 13, 2022 By Brian Thorstad

Last week I wrote about “new pastor revivals,” those wonderful seasons of new enthusiasm and excitement that follow the installation of a new parson in an old parsonage. I mentioned that while it’s not usually a “revival” in the historic sense of a powerful movement of the Holy Spirit among a group of Christians, it’s […]

Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization, Seriously Troubled Churches

The Myth Of The Young Pastor

September 20, 2022 By Brian Thorstad

I’m not picking on young pastors.  Not by any means.  Young pastors (and their families) are wonderful. Nor am I picking on churches which like young pastors.  Good for them. In fact, I want to commend every church on the planet which is aging but interested in younger pastors because they’re concerned about reaching the […]

Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization, Pastoral Search Teams, Pastoral Transitions

Full Disclosure Vs. No Disclosure: How Much Should We Tell?

September 26, 2022 By Brian Thorstad

Here’s the scenario: Your church’s youth director has just resigned.  He was well-liked and seemed to be effective.  Most of the church has no idea what went on behind the scenes.  Only a few leaders know that there were character issues, accountability issues, communication issues, philosophy-of-ministry issues and eventually, personal issues between the senior pastor […]

Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization, Pastoral Transitions, Seriously Troubled Churches

Full Disclosure Vs. No Disclosure: Part Two

October 4, 2022 By Brian Thorstad

Last week I wrote about the conundrum of what to tell a congregation when a staff member has resigned or been dismissed under less-than-ideal conditions. We explored the options of: Full disclosure – Telling a congregation the gory details of the departed staff member’s failures, or No disclosure – Saying nothing publicly about the departure, […]

Filed Under: Church Boards And Staffs, Church Health/Revitalization, Pastoral Transitions

The Ill-Fitting Staff Member: How Does This Happen?

October 13, 2022 By Brian Thorstad

Like an ill-fitting pair of shoes, ill-fitting staff members make for painful experiences for both the staff members themselves as well as the churches they serve.  It’s not easy to address these situations, but it’s important that we face the facts and get these individuals re-trained or re-deployed. Today’s post will be the first of […]

Filed Under: Church Boards And Staffs, Church Health/Revitalization, Pastoral Transitions

The Ill-Fitting Staff Member: Four Possible Solutions

October 19, 2022 By Brian Thorstad

“It was he [the risen Christ] who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists and some to be pastors and teachers…”  Ephesians 4:11 “…speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.”           […]

Filed Under: Church Boards And Staffs, Church Health/Revitalization, Pastoral Transitions

The Ill-Fitting Staff Member: The Best Solution For Many Situations

October 26, 2022 By Brian Thorstad

“A change will do you good” From the song by Sheryl Suzanne Crow, Sheryl Crow, Jeffrey Trott and Brian Mcleod  “…dig up your unplowed ground…” From Jeremiah 4:3 and Hosea 10:12 I’ve written two posts now on the subject of ill-fitting staff members: church employees who – however gifted and dedicated – never were or […]

Filed Under: Church Boards And Staffs, Church Health/Revitalization, Pastoral Transitions

Too Big For Your Britches: How To Kill Your Small Church By Acting Like A Big Church

November 2, 2022 By Brian Thorstad

“God must love poor people; He made so many of them”  Anonymous, but attributed to many sources Grownups had a saying when I was a child: “Don’t get too big for your britches!”  It meant, “Don’t get too high an opinion of yourself” or “Don’t be proud and arrogant” or “Don’t pretend to be something […]

Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization

Pastors And Churches: Prepare Your Board For The Future

November 10, 2022 By Brian Thorstad

“…men of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do-“ I Chronicles 12:32 “Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom.  We will turn this responsibility over to them.” Acts 6:3 Nobody wants to prepare for a crisis.  It’s a lot of […]

Filed Under: Church Boards And Staffs, Church Health/Revitalization, Church Structure

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Testimonials

Pastor Darin Kirkman
I am so grateful to God for Brian, his ministry, and his friendship. As a result of his assessment and coaching, my church has experienced unmistakable, God-given renewal. We are increasingly living out our church's mission which is to love and glorify God by making disciples of Jesus Christ. This is clearly showing in terms of spiritual depth (i.e. more people are maturing as Christian disciples) and spiritual width (i.e. more people are becoming Christian disciples). Our communication is clearer, our structure is stronger, our leadership development process is better, our facility stewardship is more proactive, and our cultural mindset is now set on eagerly advancing the kingdom of God. I strongly recommend the Church Whisperer to you.

Pastor Darin Kirkman
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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