I believe the heart of church revitalization is a culture of spiritual renewal. This conviction leads me to also believe that that God can transform any church that is completely surrendered to Him. No matter what the size, a church that pursues a spiritually healthy culture will thrive. In this environment the love of God compels us, and the glory of God inspires us to live out our values in meaningful ways.
We often think that the essential element of revitalization is improving the systems of the church, such as our discipleship process, our leadership development, and our missional engagement. However, if the culture of the church is unhealthy, the best systems will be anemic. First, we must seek to personally and corporately experience the presence of the risen Christ in our midst. Jesus changes everything! A church culture that pursues Christ, pursues community, and pursues calling will be a compelling witness of God’s grace.
The desire for a spiritually renewing church culture is reflected in this prayer of the Apostle Paul as he emphasizes the surpassing worth of knowing Christ.
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family[c] in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:14-21).
Notice that the focus is not on fruitfulness or effectiveness. It is knowing Christ and experiencing His presence. You see, strategies for Kingdom advance and remedies for the struggle’s churches face are not the starting point. They flow out of the abundance of a joyful heart that is being strengthened within. It’s the culture!
In his book, Flickering Lamps, Dr. Henry Blackaby recounts the moment he realized God had sent him to Saskatoon to shepherd misguided, self-centered people to become a loving, joyful, and Christ-honoring church family. The biggest issues they faced were not financial or a lack of people, though they had significant needs and few laborers. Blackaby explains that churches can degenerate into religious bureaucracies that are more fixated on facilities and programming than pleasing the Lord. In his church, unloving attitudes had been tolerated for far too long. There was a lack of humility and a lack of dependency on Christ. What the church needed most was repentance. The Holy Spirit will not bless an unhealthy church culture. Therefore, revitalization begins with heart change.
What is the culture of your church? How are you experiencing the presence of the risen Christ both personally and corporately? The Renew Montana network exists to pursue a culture of spiritual renewal together.
For more information on Renew Montana, please contact Darren Hales at [email protected].
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