The Heart Of A Great Revitalizer

My post today is a book review, sort of, but please don’t change the channel too quickly.

If you are part of a church which needs revitalization, this post will help you.  Studying Brian Croft’s, Biblical Church Revitalization (Solutions For Dying And Divided Churches), will likely help you greatly.

I’m going to give you some morsels from the book, but I encourage you to devour the whole thing. It’s available from Brian’s, Practical Shepherding ministry, www.practicalshepherding.com, from www.amazon.com or from the publisher, www.christianfocus.com.

Brian is a veteran of a very intense, revitalization pastorate, has written over a dozen books on the practicalities of pastoral ministry and teaches revitalization ministry at the seminary level.

Croft’s emphasis is a basic, Biblical approach. The author insists that God is able to breathe life into that which is dead and to unite that which is divided. Let’s let the author speak:

“The rest of this book seeks to wave the banner that only God and His power can truly revitalize a dying, divided church, and God’s design to accomplish this is found through His Spirit at work in His word…God is powerful enough to revitalize the most dead and divided church.”

That’s wonderful, but not shocking.  Many have been saying this for a long time.

But we need to keep hearing it, because the temptation for so many of us is to turn to revitalization approaches which pay scant attention to the need for a “miracle of Biblical proportions”- which is in conformity to Biblical priorities – and to turn instead to tricks, tips and techniques which lead to the numerical growth which is too often confused with actual revitalization.

I’m not suggesting that methods, materials and ministries don’t matter at all: In my Revitalization Playbook, I begin by highlighting five “scripted” (mandatory) plays (strategies) followed by fifteen optional plays.  When I’ve completed revising and expanding the book I’ll have at least a half dozen additional plays.

But what we must not do is to by-pass the Biblical basics (scripted plays or key issues) in favor of improved web sites, freshened up buildings and more skillful worship bands.

For the record, the author says that the key issues and questions in revitalization are:

• Authority – Who is in charge?
• Leadership – Whom do I follow?
• Membership – To whom am I accountable?
• Unity – Who is my brother?
• Worship – Why do we gather together?

While I don’t necessarily see those five as the issues in every revitalization challenge, I definitely agree that they are significant issues in every church and key issues in the revitalization of many churches.  The chapters on these five are very helpful and well worth your time.

But, as one who’s read many books on the subject, here’s what I found to be the best contribution of this one: the emphasis on the revitalization pastor himself. While every de-vitalized church needs both inner and outer tiers of supportive leaders around him,¹ the head, the hands and the heart of the revitalization pastor himself are vital to the downloading from heaven of a revitalization miracle.

Here’s a sample of the author’s thoughts on the revitalization pastor:

(1) His training. Croft breaks new ground by suggesting that revitalization pastors should be trained for the task and he is helping with this need by way of his own Mathena Center.²

 While I smile to think of the unlikely scenario of young seminarians fighting to get into courses on how to revive old, dying, divided churches, I have no problem envisioning pastors who have served long enough to have some “blood on their tunics” enrolling in the author’s or similar programs. This is a wonderful and long-overdue development.

(2) His self-care. Croft understands from his own experience that the revitalization pastor is – in many cases – going to war. His task is going to be intense, personal, long, hard and brutal. Revitalization pastoring is special forces pastoring. The pastor must get himself and keep himself “fit” for a very demanding – but, in the end – rewarding task.

(3) His shepherding. Croft is a big believer in the importance of the pastor as a pastor – the Latin word means, a shepherd. Croft believes that real, heaven-sent revitalization is an outcome of the godly, prayerful, loving, painstaking, direction-setting work of real, God-called, Spirit-equipped pastors. “If God is going to breathe life into His church, it must come through the revival of His people who are there.” [Emphasis mine]

Croft would say (my paraphrase), “Your church’s revitalization depends upon your people’s revitalization; your church will thrive when you, pastor, lead the sheep to become the flock which God wants them to be. Don’t even think about by-passing your current flock or replacing them with ‘better’ sheep imported from elsewhere.”

(4) His patience. Here’s a gem from the author which is worth the price of the book:

“In the early years of revitalization work pastors are often convinced they – in contrast to their members who are so resistant to change – are the patient ones…As the years pass, pastors realize in a lot of ways that it was the other way around. These long-time faithful saints wounded by previous pastors for decades were the ones being patient. They were being patient as the pastor grew in his preaching. They were being patient as the new pastor learned to love them. They were being patient through the pastor’s rookie mistakes. They were being patient through all the changes they did not understand or agree with.”

(5) His Perseverance. Says our author, “In my experience, it takes a minimum of five years before a pastor can begin to see real, lasting fruit of his ministry that points to church health.”

Five years?  Really? Some of you have heard me say that God can turn a church around in forty days if He wants to (as in the Book of Jonah), but a turnaround is only a beginning.  The church that has turned around is now headed in the right direction, but it may still have a long way to go in that good direction. Do you see why this should indeed be viewed as a calling which requires some training and a great deal of perseverance?

(6) His Grace. Croft insists that revitalization pastors must be shepherds who are willing to forgive naughty, biting sheep. Many troubled churches, the author insists, are anxious, suspicious and angry as a result of the fatally flawed pastoral work of the would-be revitalizer’s predecessors. The heaven-sent revitalizer must be someone who models God’s incredible willingness and ability to bear with and forgive.³

(7) His preaching. The author puts a big emphasis on God’s power to change weak and troubled churches through sound, careful, strong, prayerful preaching. The revitalization pastor must resist the temptation to resort to shortcuts which could weaken or de-emphasize his pulpit ministry.

I’d like to add my “Amen!”  I experienced this in eight interim pastorates and was continually amazed at God’s willingness to revive and strengthen the lives of His people through the bold, meaty and direct preaching of God’s life-giving word.

If you are not a pastor, your prayers and patience can help your pastor grow into an excellent revitalization pastor. Giving him a copy of Biblical Church Revitalization could be very helpful.

If you’re a pastor who has come to realize that he has been sent by God to a church which is sorely in need of revitalization, this resource would be a great place to start. Beyond this, if you can’t enroll in a seminary program, consider getting some help from a veteran coach or consultant. I offer help in the form of individual coaching, revitalization cohorts, church assessments, revitalization-focused strategic planning and board member training.

¹ See my blog posts: Build A Unified Leadership Team and Build A Supportive Coalition.  These are also found in the Revitalization Playbook as Optional Plays 5 and 6.

² The Mathena Center For Church Revitalization: https://revitalize.sbts.edu/

³ I’ve always felt that the word “longsuffering” (willing to suffer for a long time) says it all.