August 15, 2023

What Happens When a Church Exhausts Itself on Fighting

21 minutes

Some churches have the uncanny ability to prolong infighting for decades. Other congregations get to a point where the fighting creates collective exhaustion. Thom and Sam discuss what happens when a church stops fighting because everyone is tired.

When the fighting stops, the church is not necessarily starting to get healthy again.

Two groups form: those who decide to leave defeated and those who stay and become apathetic.

In most cases, the church takes a reputation hit in the community.

Pastor churn and staff church begin because few in the church want to volunteer or have any responsibilities.

A new pastor can get permission to lead change, but change does not happen because too few people will do what is requested.

The way out is through a renewed outward focus in six-month increments. Most exhausted churches can do only one thing at a time.

Resources

California Baptist University Pre-College Credit

“Extraordinary Hearing: Preparing Your Soul to Hear from God” by Greg Pruett

Tyndale House Publishers

The Hope Initiative

The Complete Membership Class Toolkit

Get your FREE tool! Attendance Growth Projector

Check out the Church Answers Christian bookstore! Shop curated, trusted resources for Christian life and ministry.

Episode Sponsors:

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Students can start during any eight-week session – summer, fall, spring, each semester has two sessions as indicated on the flier

The first-class free offer is limited. I do not yet know for how long, but we should market it as temporary for now.

Many students have successfully completed courses during their normal school year. Classes are asynchronous, so they can access course materials at their convenience.

Sometimes universities have similar programs and they make classes specific for high school students – HS students sitting with other HS students. In our program, participants sit in on real college courses, with actual college student peers. They get the real deal through our experience.

Extraordinary Hearing: Preparing Your Soul to Hear from God by Greg Pruett

“Greg Pruett is a man of absolute integrity and faith; a modern-day Elijah. . . . His passion is contagious. You will love his heart, his words, and his wisdom.”—Max Lucado

What if you could hear God speaking? What diﬀerence would that make in your life?

You don’t have to wonder if God still speaks. He reveals Himself to everyone, without exception. The difference between God’s people and all other people scattered over the face of the earth is this: When God speaks, His people listen.

Join Greg Pruett as he teaches you how to develop extraordinary hearing—discernible guidance from God in your day-to-day life, based on the leading of the Holy Spirit within you. He’ll offer answers to your questions about prayer and discernment, such as:

How can I tell if it’s really God speaking?

Does God still communicate with us the way He did with people in the Bible?

How can I hear Him more clearly when I pray? What can I do to learn to listen?

Extraordinary Hearing gives practical, biblical insights on how to pray and how to hear from God that will help unleash the power of prayer in your life.

“Extraordinary Hearing: Preparing Your Soul to Hear from God” by Greg Pruett

The post What Happens When a Church Exhausts Itself on Fighting appeared first on Church Answers.

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By Thom Rainer

4.8

460460 ratings

August 15, 2023

What Happens When a Church Exhausts Itself on Fighting

21 minutes

When the fighting stops, the church is not necessarily starting to get healthy again.

Two groups form: those who decide to leave defeated and those who stay and become apathetic.

In most cases, the church takes a reputation hit in the community.

Pastor churn and staff church begin because few in the church want to volunteer or have any responsibilities.

A new pastor can get permission to lead change, but change does not happen because too few people will do what is requested.

The way out is through a renewed outward focus in six-month increments. Most exhausted churches can do only one thing at a time.

Resources

California Baptist University Pre-College Credit

“Extraordinary Hearing: Preparing Your Soul to Hear from God” by Greg Pruett

Tyndale House Publishers

The Hope Initiative

The Complete Membership Class Toolkit

Get your FREE tool! Attendance Growth Projector

Check out the Church Answers Christian bookstore! Shop curated, trusted resources for Christian life and ministry.

Episode Sponsors:

This program is open to third-culture kids, homeschool students, private and public school students, etc.

Students can start during any eight-week session – summer, fall, spring, each semester has two sessions as indicated on the flier

The first-class free offer is limited. I do not yet know for how long, but we should market it as temporary for now.

Many students have successfully completed courses during their normal school year. Classes are asynchronous, so they can access course materials at their convenience.

Extraordinary Hearing: Preparing Your Soul to Hear from God by Greg Pruett

“Greg Pruett is a man of absolute integrity and faith; a modern-day Elijah. . . . His passion is contagious. You will love his heart, his words, and his wisdom.”—Max Lucado

What if you could hear God speaking? What diﬀerence would that make in your life?

How can I tell if it’s really God speaking?

Does God still communicate with us the way He did with people in the Bible?

How can I hear Him more clearly when I pray? What can I do to learn to listen?

Extraordinary Hearing gives practical, biblical insights on how to pray and how to hear from God that will help unleash the power of prayer in your life.

“Extraordinary Hearing: Preparing Your Soul to Hear from God” by Greg Pruett

The post What Happens When a Church Exhausts Itself on Fighting appeared first on Church Answers.

...more