The renovation of the church may seem a bit like being in the middle of a forest, where am I going now?What do you do first, what should you ignore?What is the goal I should strive to achieve?
Of course, every situation will be different, but I also believe that there is a general pattern that establishes a good trajectory for men who are trying to lead a church in the reform process. Here is a small itinerary that can help you not get lost while walking.
- First.
- Preach the Word.
- This is not only the first step.
- It is the air that breathes.
- At all times.
- And as long as the Lord gives it encouragement.
- Preach the Word.
- It is the Word of God that gives life and it is the Word of God that the Holy Spirit uses to shape a church in the image of Jesus.
- If you do not do it faithfully.
- Accurately and well.
- Reforming the church will have no value.
- At the same time.
- An important part of a church’s reform is constantly teaching its congregation the biblical foundations of what it does.
- At every step of the way.
- Will you need to teach them about belonging.
- Elders.
- Deaconos.
- Congregationalism.
- And even the meaning of the church itself?The educational element of the reform is never over; in fact.
- It paves the way for everything else.
Second, learn about the government of your church. If you are going to renovate a church, instead of starting from scratch, you need to know your government, you need to know how to make a difference. What do you need to know to change the rules? To elect leaders? Receive or remove members? How does it work? As a reforming pastor, you need to know the existing rules better than anyone in the church. If you don’t, if you just try to get over it, you are going to create big problems for you. yourself, because people will feel betrayed. It’s usually easier to swallow a defeat when you feel like it has honestly happened. Ignore the rules.
Third, meet the guards. Each church has pressure points – people in key management positions, whether formal or informal. In a situation that requires reform, many of these lookouts – by definition – will be problematic. Otherwise, the church would have been renovated before your arrival. To renovate a church, then, meet these people. Spend time with them, before offending them, and discover their value, how they communicate and how they can be persuaded, it is helpful to know which of these people can influence each other and where they will be useful to you at different stages. If the deacal director likes the idea of the elderly, but hates the idea of meaningful membership, trust him when he believes the elders, but don’t count on him to be a member.
Fourth, get help. You can’t do a makeover alone, you want other people to get involved in the process, have ideas and identify the ninety percent of them that are bad, discourage you from doing stupid things, and persuade you to do good things. unpleasant though. It doesn’t have to be formal; You don’t have to choose men to fill that role, but do you want them to buy into the reform idea, almost as much as you do? You want them to feel the weight, to care deeply about it, and not even think about leaving it alone if the process gets difficult. Look for men you would name older if you could. They must be not only great voices, but also peacemakers and persuaders, encouraging and responsible. If you can find at least one or two men like these by your side, your job will be infinitely easier to do.
Fifth, make membership meaningful. This is one of the first things you can do during retirement, and the good news is that most pastors can do at least some of this work without any formal rule changes. The congregation’s vote is probably not necessary. Even if it is culturally required to receive members after them?In a call, most pastors will at least be able to argue that it would be good to talk to potential members before they are accepted into the post. Then, by knowing them, you can make sure that they understand the gospel and that they are truly Christian. Not only that, but it must also begin, at the beginning of the reform, to make its members more faithful to church attendance. If there are people on the list who haven’t been to church in decades, you should probably remove them. Decisions about the different stages of reform in your church should be made by people who have a personal interest in the church, not by people who simply appear in big votes and then disappear again.
Sixth, reform the rules. Once membership is clean and faithfully reflects your presence, you should proceed carefully to reform church rules, if necessary. This usually means amending or replacing the constitution or regulations. It is important to note that the reform of the rules is in fact an advanced One must think of it as the fruit that springs from many plows, sometimes years of plow, that must be done before, but once this work is finished, the path for even more beneficial reforms is opened.
Seventh, he recognizes the elders. If your congregation is willing to change its rules and give way to a plurality of shepherds, you will probably be ready to recognize men as elders; on the other hand, the specific is always more difficult than the abstract, and deciding which men to name. Sometimes it’s a tough decision. There may be men in the church who are obviously qualified to play this role, but there are probably some who are also almost qualified. There may also be men whose congregation would expect to be recognized as elderly, but who are not qualified in any way. As with any other reform process, you will need to devote a great deal of education to the role and character of the elderly before appointing a group of men.
Eighth, develop a culture of discipline and build structures that support it. Once you have a group of men recognized as elderly, the next step is to start building on the foundations of the reform you have already launched. It’s not just a step in a process; it is an ongoing process to guide the church in its spiritual growth. Building a culture of discipline is crucial to this growth. Through example and teaching, you want to show your congregation what it means to be a Christian and how the church works to help Christians grow. Not only that, but you have to build structures that support this culture of discipline. Different churches do this in different ways, of course. In my church, we have a structure of groups of houses that support discipleship of approximately eighty-five years. five percent of our members. Other churches depend on other structures. The important thing to remember is that discipleship does not occur spontaneously; should be directed and promoted.
Ninth, preach the Word, the most fundamental step in Church reform?And it’s more than a step; What sustains and permeates everything else?It is to ensure that the Word of God is proclaimed and applied to all areas of church life. When adherence is pure, the rules are reformed, officials, elected officials, and discipline structures are established, what remains is a life to preach the Word and pray that God will produce growth. We can plant and water, but if there is to be life, it will only happen by the power of God’s grace.
I have presented here a numbered list of steps and these are, in general terms, the steps we take during the renovation of Third Avenue Baptist in Louisville (USA). U. S. ) But, of course, a church is not a machine, and the renovation of the Church is not just about assembling the rooms. Different situations may require a different order of steps and this is where pastoral wisdom comes in. In the end, renovating a church is much more like raising a child than building a machine. in the church, love her, serve her, educate her, and administer her. and you pray all the time that God will make you mature and make you a living and vibrant testimony of your Son.