When Does a Church Need a Modest Revitalization?

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Sometimes a wholesale revitalization isn’t what’s needed in a church. More often than not, small changes can make a big difference. Today, we discuss eight of those times.

Episode Highlights:

  • It’s entirely possible for a church to be growing numerically yet still be in dire need of revitalization.
  • Apathy is dangerous for a pastor or church staff member.
  • One of the biggest dangers for pastors is ignoring conflict and not addressing it.
  • The size and impact of your ministry footprint is more important than the numbers in the pews.

The eight times we discuss are:

  1. Almost every year
  2. When attendance stagnates or declines
  3. When leaders become apathetic
  4. When conflicts increase
  5. When the community is neglected
  6. When the facilities are neglected
  7. When the welcome team/greeters gather in holy huddles
  8. When there are few conversions

Resources mentioned in this episode include:

Revitalize & Replant is sponsored by the North American Mission Board and ChurchReplanters.com. More than 10% of churches in North America are at risk of closing and the North American Mission Board is committed to reversing this trend by decreasing the death rate of existing churches while simultaneously increasing the birth rate of new churches. To learn more about what it means to become a replanting pastor or to explore resources for replanting and revitalization in your own church, visit ChurchReplanters.com.

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Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Thom Rainer.

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Inquiry finds Cardinal Vincent Nichols focused on Church reputation over welfare of children

There have been over 130 allegations of child abuse since the 1930s within the Archdiocese of Birmingham.

The independent inquiry in child sexual abuse has been investigating the response to allegations surrounding four priests and announced on Thursday that the Church, more than once, did not inform police of allegations, moved priests to new parishes and failed to take appropriate action.

 

It said 78 of the perpetrators are now dead but made conclusions about the handling of their cases by others.

The inquiry has found that Cardinal Vincent Nichols, who is now the Archbishop of Westminster but was the Archbishop of Birmingham between 2000-2009, focused too much on the reputation of the Church rather than the welfare of children.

Once example explained that Cardinal Nichols was “misplaced and missed the point” when he criticised the BBC in 2003 for tracking down and approaching James Robinson, one of the abusive priests, around the silver jubilee of the Pope. At the time, he criticised them and accused them of anti-Catholic bias.

James Robinson was moved to a different parish when allegations were made against him and was then helped to flee to the US to avoid persecution for years, where journalists tracked him down.

The report said “Whilst Archbishop Nichol’s response to the broadcasting of ‘Kenyon confronts’ did acknowledge the damage done to those who had been…

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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

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A vaccine to prevent Alzheimer’s and the remedy for spiritual blindness

Researchers announced recently that they are working on a vaccine to prevent Alzheimer’s disease. A team from the University of New Mexico has been developing the concept for five years and has begun testing their vaccine on mice.

Mice with Alzheimer’s disease were injected with the vaccine and then given a series of maze-like tests. The mice that received the vaccine performed much better than those that didn’t.

However, the vaccine has not yet been shown to work in humans. The developers are hoping to raise the $2 million needed to create a clinical version they can test in people. Once they produce a vaccine that’s safe for humans, they will have to submit it to the FDA for approval. This could take another five years.

Imagine a scenario where these researchers perfected their vaccine but didn’t tell the world what they had accomplished. Future Alzheimer’s patients would then develop a disease that could have been prevented.

In such a scenario, who would we blame for their illness?

“Bring out the people who are blind”

The Lord declared through his prophet, “Bring out the people who are blind, yet have eyes, who are deaf, yet have ears!” (Isaiah 43:8).

When I read this statement recently, I noted that those who have eyes but are blind may not know that they are sightless. Those who have ears but are deaf may not know that they cannot hear.

If they have eyes and ears, they could assume that they can see and hear as well as they should.

I have entered the reading-glasses stage of life. Fine print that used to be legible now requires magnification. But if I had no memory of being able to read such print unassisted, I could assume that fine print is illegible to everyone. I wouldn’t know that my eyes are less capable than they used to be.

In short, those who don’t know that they are sightless and deaf don’t know what they don’t know. This is a metaphor for the spiritual condition of…

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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Denison Forum.

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Murder accused church warden drew up list of 100 future ‘targets’, court told

Benjamin Field, 28, explained the “100 clients” file was not just a list of future targets but of people who could help him.

Field is on trial alongside Martyn Smith, 32, accused of murdering author and former teacher Peter Farquhar, 69, and conspiring to murder retired headmistress Ann Moore-Martin, 83.

 

The English literature graduate admits deceiving Mr Farquhar and Miss Moore-Martin into believing he was in a relationship with them both.

Field also admits “gaslighting” the pair, who were neighbours in the village of Maids Moreton, Buckinghamshire, in order to benefit financially from their wills.

Mr Farquhar died in October 2015, while Miss Moore-Martin passed away in May 2017.

Giving evidence for a seventh day at Oxford Crown Court, Field took the jury through his “100 clients” list.

He named his own parents, Ian and Beverley, paternal grandparents and two co-accused, Smith and younger brother Tom Field, 24.

Field also named a former long-term girlfriend, members of her family, ex-partners, one-night stands, and other friends and acquaintances, such as a recently widowed woman who owned her own home.

“People who maybe useful to me, either as targets of fraud or in other ways,” Field said.

He explained that his brother Tom’s inclusion on the list was as a “prop” for his fraud of Miss Moore-Martin.

“He was used and manipulated by me,” Field said.

The court heard that…

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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

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Trump’s spiritual advisor binds ‘demonic networks’ against president in campaign kickoff prayer

Delivering the opening prayer at Trump’s official reelection rally at the Amway Center in Florida, White said: “I pray for the Spirit of the Lord to rest upon our president. 

“Father You have raised President Trump up for such a time as this.”

  

She continued her prayer and said: “Let every demonic network that has aligned itself against the purpose, against the calling of President Trump, let it be broken, let it be torn down in the name of Jesus.” 

To chants of “USA,” Trump took to the stage and recalled his unlikely rise to power. 

“We stared down the unholy alliance of lobbyists and donors and special interests who made a living bleeding our country dry,” Trump said.

“The swamp is fighting back so viciously and violently. For the last two and a half years, we have been under siege.”

He also hinted at a new campaign slogan -“keep America great.”

“We are going to keep making America great again and then we will indeed keep America great,” Trump told the large crowd:

“We are going to keep it better than ever before and that is why I stand before you tonight to officially launch my campaign for a second term as president of the United States.”

He went on to paint a picture of what he thought life would look like if he loses in 2020, accusing his critics of “un-American conduct” and saidd that Democrats “want to destroy you and they want to destroy our…

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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

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