Church Revitalization from the Inside Out

by Robert D. Stuart

Leaders, church revitalization starts with you!The world desperately needs the ministry of a thriving church—but all too often the local church is stagnant and ineffective. An ailing church needs vibrant, healthy leadership! But what’s the solution when leaders feel fatigued from their work, discouraged by church conflicts, and ill equipped for the demands of shepherding?Church planter and professional interim pastor Robert D. Stuart challenges pastors and elders to take a frank look at the most common illness behind a stagnant weak or ineffective leadership. In this diagnostic manual, he lists some telltale symptoms of a poorly led church, such as fear of change, personal “sacred cows,” and superficial uniformity instead of true unity.The great news is that when leaders take steps to improve, the health of the church improves too! Stuart provides practical suggestions and examples from his own experiences to point overwhelmed leaders toward the one remedy that emulating the leadership of the church’s true head, Jesus.“As someone who has led a company, pastored a church, and trained future pastors, I have read a number of books on leadership. Not one of those books, however, has been as practical and as full of real-life examples as Bob Stuart’s.”—Michael W. Honeycutt, Senior Pastor, Westminster Presbyterian Church“Bob Stuart . . . diagnoses the sickness in the church, exposes the practice of poor church leadership, and prescribes the cure. Leaders, pastors, and church planters are encouraged to read this book, which will help them become the leaders they were called to be.”—David V. Edling, Author, Redeeming Church ConflictsRobert D. Stuart is pastor of shepherding and leadership at Twin Oaks Presbyterian Church in St. Louis, Missouri. He is also the president of Proclamation Ministries, Inc., which helps churches to rejuvenate ministries and revitalize leadership. Bob has served as professor of pastoral counseling at New Geneva Seminary in Colorado Springs and is a veteran of the US Marine Corp, seeing combat action.

244 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 16, 2016

Reviews

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. It is written from the perspective of the deacons, elders, or church boards that have much influence in the church, even over the pastor. The book is practical, serious, and accessible, all at the same time. It is filled with actions you can put into practice today and theories and concepts that will require much thought and study.

[Will Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple but solid work on leadership in pastoral ministry. I was not expecting this book. I had the expectation that this would be on how to revitalize stagnant, dead, or dying churches. And in a very real sense that is true, but Stuart's focus is on revitalizing the church by revitalizing the leadership.

"The church is at war..." writes Stuart. And leaders must be prepared for battle. Therefore, this book "is about encouraging leaders to stay faithful and avoid the pitfalls of poor leadership. Weak leaders produce weak churches, and weak churches are ineffective in reaching a dying culture with the gospel of Christ." (13). So Stuart seeks to strengthen leaders because, "The spiritual health of the local church is directly related to the spiritual health of her leaders. When the health of leaders improves, so too does the health of the church." (15).

He begins by looking at three types of leaders: cattleman, drovers, and shepherds. Cattleman are all about themselves. "They set their own agendas, become the core elite on the elder board, and foolishly think that their decisions are best for the church..." (22). Drovers are the "yes-men" who are easily swayed and often blindly support others. Shepherds are servant-leaders. They seek to put others before themselves for the sake of Christ's church.

Stuart continues by looking at nine different dysfunctions of leadership.

First, leaders must be decision makers. Poor leaders make bad decisions while good leaders make healthy ones. And good leaders are not afraid of making tough decisions.

Second, wise leaders seek the unity and promote the harmony of the church. Poor leadership discourages free exchange and open dialogue. Good leaders listen and promote trust with one another. Unity in decisions should be pursued, recognizing that unity is not uniformity. The elders must always be unified before the church. Five "V"s of relationship building: view of self (sinners), vacuous (empty of pride), vulnerable (open), vocal (communicative with one another), and visible ("relational people are noticeable).

Third, good leaders know themselves and their idols. Poor leaders fail to see the idols that have captivated their hearts. Six idols: self-importance, doctrinal fixation, personal preferences, the pastor (blind support), tribal leader (will not be contradicted), unrepentant sin. Treatment for idols is twofold: recognition and repentance.

Fourth, Poor leaders turn a deaf ear to gossip and allow it to run unchallenged. Good leaders safeguard their own hearts and tongues while also offering soothing words of encouragement. THINK - truth, honorable, intent, need, kindness. Good leaders are quick to hear and slow to speak.

Fifth, poor leaders are prideful. "Arrogance makes us concentrate on 'me,' and when we do, we forget that the church is not ours but Christ's." (98). "The name of Jesus is synonymous with humility and servanthood. To be his follower is to represent his character to a desperate and dying world. Humility of character in a leader...is a sweet allurement that sheep will follow." (103).

Sixth, the church is at war and during war change is necessary. Poor leadership fears change. "Change is what the Lord uses to cause us to grow spiritually, to help us understand him more fully, and to prepare us for the final perfect change, when, at the last trumpet, the dead will be raised imperishable." (109). In other words, good leaders seek change because change brings about sanctification. Five Ps of change: preparation work out the plan; partnering bring others along, create ownership; publication - over communication of the plan; plotting progress measure change and seek constructive feedback; pliability stop or change if necessary.

Seventh, poor leadership fails to pursue reconciliation. "When leaders carry around an unforgiving spirit and entrench themselves in the hardness of their own hearts, they not only commit the sin of bitterness but also fail to model the character of Christ." (122). Church discipline is restorative. It is an act of love. "Good family men discipline their children; good church leaders discipline their members." (125). "Redeeming church conflict is not just about resolving specific problems, but more about seeing struggles as a vehicle by which God matures his saints, causes them to grow in holiness, and continuously conforms them into the image of Christ." (130).

Eighth,

In the concluding chapter he ties everything together by showing how Jesus corrects those dysfunctions and how he perfectly modeled godly leadership.

More to come...

[Nate Bate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know what I was expecting when I got this book, but I do know it was different than I expected. In one way, I think it was refreshing. It wasn't gimmicky or fadish. There was a total absence of these in the book. Stuart's sole emphasis for church revitalization was on church leadership. In the sense of challenging church leaders, I think this was an excellent book. The only weakness in this regard is that I don't think Stuart gave enough acknowledgement to the various polities and how that in itself is a significant struggle for churches.

As far as church revitalization as a whole, I think there are significant gaps that Robert Stuart leaves. If he had named the book something related to leadership development and church revitalization, then the book wouldn't leave you with gaps. But since the book assumes the topic of church revitalization as a whole, then there is a lot more that needs to be said.

[Stephan Smit · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good approach to church revitalization.

Stuart touches on key threats to healthy leadership and offers Jesus as the answer.