Church Revitalization

It had been a busy week. Several early mornings and late nights stringed together. On that Friday afternoon I glanced at my watch and saw it time to pack up for the day and head home. Suddenly I heard a knock on my outside door. I opened the door to find another pastor standing there. He was in the area and wanted to stop by for a visit. Not exactly what I planned but a divine appointment.

We visited about the church for a bit and then he mentioned the words "church revitalization." He wanted to get me in touch with a guy to help me. He assured me that man would be in contact with me in a few days.

Sure enough the next week I heard from that pastor. My spirit immediately bore witness with his spirit. He told me the testimony of what God had done in his ministry growing a church from 15 to 1,200 over the span of 28 years. I was mesmerized. We talked about church revitalization. Our meeting lasted for two hours mostly talking about God stuff. He assured me God could do the same thing at Heritage if I stayed and trusted God for the miracles.

I drove back to my office with head swimming. Wondering what God was doing. Inside my office I prayed and read scripture. Then I saw it. The previous Wednesday night mail got delivered on my desk I had not looked through. At the bottom of the stack sat a magazine. I rummaged through the pile and pulled the magazine out. I was not prepared for what I saw. God invaded time and space and settled in that little office through the front cover of the magazine and two words in bold red print. "Church Revitalization." 

In less than a week I heard those two words three times. Last Thursday I heard or saw them twice in the span of there hours. I knew this was not a coincidence. God was speaking to me. After some prayer I began reading Mark Batterson's All In book. The first thing I saw on the page was the scripture Luke 9:23.

Luke 9:23 (ESV)
23  And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."

Then I read about drawing a line in the sand and life defining moments. I knew such a moment engulfed me. God had my undivided attention.

The rest of that encounter with God can be read on my post titled "The Eighth Chair."

I have been following Jesus one day at a time for weeks now and watching to see what He is doing. Do you expect me to believe that a pastor would stop by my office just as I was about to leave and speak the words "church revitalization" to me. If he had showed up even three minutes later I would have been gone. Do you expect me to believe he would connect me with another pastor who spoke to me from practical experience about "church revitalization." Do expect me to believe that second pastor would take time to meet with me for breakfast a complete stranger. Do you expect me to believe God did not use him to ignite something in me. And furthermore, do you expect me to believe by random chance that magazine just happened to end up on my desk in that moment and that I just happened to read the front cover at that precise moment.

I am convinced God spoke to me. He spoke in dramatic fashion. I recorded it all in my journal and now on the printed page for others to see a written account of my encounter with God. God has a plan He does not want me to miss out on. He has gone to some out of the ordinary lengths to reveal a part of that plan to me. Now, I must respond in faith.

Heritage, we have much to believe God for. The work is not easy before us nor for the faint of heart. The mountains before us are still massive. God is mightier. I believe God wants to revitalize Heritage. It will not happen overnight. It will require a great deal of faith. It will take hard work. It will also necessitate change. A word many churches hate.

God spoke to me in a way I cannot deny or ignore. I don't know all that is ahead but I am trusting God to revitalize Heritage Baptist Church. I hope you will go ALL IN with me on this. You have my heart.